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1999

Laser-induced microexplosions in transparent materials: microstructuring with nanojoules, at Photonics West 1999 (San Jose, CA), Tuesday, January 26, 1999
We tightly focus femtosecond laser pulses in the bulk of a transparent material. The high intensity at the focus causes nonlinear absorption of the laser energy, producing a microscopic plasma and damaging the material. The tight external focusing allows high intensity to be achieved with low energy, minimizing the effects of self-focusing. We report the thresholds for breakdown and critical self-focusing in fused silica using 110-fs pulses at both 400-nm and 800-nm wavelength. We find that permanent damage can be produced with only 10 nJ (25 nJ) for 400-nm (800-nm) pulses, and that the... Read more about Laser-induced microexplosions in transparent materials: microstructuring with nanojoules
Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?, at 193rd Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (Austin, TX), Thursday, January 7, 1999:
talk_254.pdf
Education is more than just transfer of information, yet that is what is mostly done in large introductory courses -- instructors present material (even though this material might be readily available in printed form) and for students the main purpose of lectures is to take down as many notes as they can. Few students have the ability, motivation, and discipline to synthesize all the information delivered to them. Yet synthesis is perhaps the most important -- and most elusive -- aspect of education. Students get frustrated because they are unable to grasp simple concepts. Instructors get... Read more about Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?

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