OSA NEWS

October 12, 2004

OSA Elects 2005 Vice President, Joseph Eberly

Election Also Establishes Three New Directors at Large

October 12, 2004 ( Rochester , NY )—The Optical Society of America (OSA) is pleased to announce that its members have elected Joseph Eberly, Carnegie Professor of Physics and Professor of Optics at the University of Rochester and director of the Theory Center for Optical Science and Engineering, as its 2005 vice president. During this year's vote, Christopher Dainty, Peter Delfyett, and Donna Strickland were also elected as new directors at large.

By accepting the vice presidency, Eberly makes a three-year commitment to OSA's board of directors. As vice president, Eberly will automatically become president elect in 2006 and then the Society's president in 2007. The new directors at large will each hold their position for three years.

“We are thrilled to have Joseph Eberly as our newest vice president and look forward to working with him over the coming years. He has always been an active member of Society, dedicating countless hours of his time to OSA programs and initiatives,” said Elizabeth Rogan, executive director. “I know he will bring that same level of commitment and enthusiasm to the vice presidency and the presidency.”

Eberly is currently chair of the OSA Board of Editors and an ex-officio member of the OSA Board of Directors and has been a member or chair of numerous committees, including the Finance, Townes Award, Wood Prize, and Ives Medal committees, the Society Objectives and Policy Committee, and the Long-Term Planning Group for publications. He also serves OSA as a representative on the AIP Governing Board and as a member of the AIP Investment Advisory Committee. In addition, he has been involved with organizing national and international meetings including topical conferences, QELS, IQEC and the OSA annual meeting. For two years he led the formulation of strategy for electronic publication at OSA and served for five years as the first editor of Optics Express . Earlier he was topical editor for JOSA B and on the editorial boards of Optics Letters , Laser Physics and Physical Review A . He has also served as chair of DLS/APS and was an elected member-at-large of the OSA Board of Directors in 1987-1990. Eberly also is a recipient of the OSA Townes Medal.

Along with Eberly, the new directors at large, Dainty, Delfyett, and Strickland, will be formally inducted on January 2. They will replace three outgoing members of the Board of Directors.

“Our members are the driving forces behind everything we do,” said Rogan. “Each year, our elections serve as an opportunity for our members to voice their opinions and elect their leadership. The newly elected vice president and directors at large will bring innovative ideas to the table, reflecting the needs and interests of our community. We want to thank our new board members, all of the candidates and our collective membership for their enthusiasm for and continued support of OSA.”

About OSA

The Optical Society of America (OSA) brings together an international network of the industry's preeminent optics and photonics scientists, engineers, educators, technicians and business leaders. Representing more than 15,000 members from approximately 100 different countries, OSA promotes the worldwide generation, application and dissemination of optics and photonics knowledge through its meetings, events and journals. Since its founding in 1916, OSA member benefits, programming, publications, products and services have set the industries standard of excellence. Additional information on OSA is available on the Society's Web site at www.osa.org .