OSA News

Contact:
Colleen Morrison
Optical Society of America
202.416.1437
cmorri@osa.org

OSA Elects 2006 Vice President, Rod Alferness
Election Also Establishes Three New Directors at Large

October 18, 2005 (Tucson, AZ)—The Optical Society of America (OSA) is pleased to announce that its members have elected Rod Alferness, senior vice president of optical networking research at Bell Laboratories, as its 2006 vice president. During this year's vote, Ken Baldwin, Philip Bucksbaum, and Ian Walmsley were also elected as new directors at large.

By accepting the vice presidency, Alferness makes a four-year commitment to OSA's board of directors. As vice president, Alferness will automatically become president-elect in 2007, president in 2008 and past president in 2009. The new directors at large will each hold their position for three years.

“We are honored to have Rod Alferness as our 2006 vice president. He has been an active member of the Society and a well respected member in our community,” said Elizabeth Rogan, executive director. “The OSA Board and staff look forward to working with him.”

Alferness was an elected member of the OSA Board of Directors from 2001 through 2003. He has served as a chair on the CLEO Program Committee, the OFC/NFOEC Program Committee, the Photonics in Switching Program Committee, and the Fellows and Honorary Members Committee. He was also a member of the Board of Editors and the Tyndall Award Selection Committee. Alferness was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Lightwave Technology and an associate editor of Optics Letters and Photonic Technology Letters.

Along with Alferness, the new directors at large, Baldwin, Bucksbaum, and Walmsley, will be formally inducted on January 2. They will replace three outgoing members of the Board of Directors.

“Every year OSA members have an opportunity to influence the direction of the Society through the election of our leadership. This year we were thrilled with the large turn-out of members who voted in the election. Together with the OSA Board, the newly elected vice-president and directors-at-large will steer OSA to support the needs and interests of the optics and photonics community. We thank our new board members, all of the candidates and the entire membership for their enthusiasm and continued support of OSA,” said Rogan.

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 industry's standard of excellence. Additional information on OSA is available on the Society's Web site at www.osa.org. OSA is proud to be a part of the World Year of Physics, a celebration of physics and the 100 th anniversary of some of Einstein's greatest achievements. Optics is the branch of physics that studies the properties of light. For additional information on World Year of Physics, visit www.physics2005.org.

NOTE: Photographs of Vice President Rod Alferness, Directors at Large Ken Baldwin, Philip Bucksbaum, and Ian Walmsley are available upon request.

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