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2005

Visualizations and visual illusions: how the mind tricks us, at NATO ASI Course on New developments in optics and related fields: modern techniques, materials, and applications, Centro Ettore Majorana (Erice, Italy), Saturday, June 11, 2005:
talk_1159.pdf
Neurobiology and cognitive psychology have made great progress in understanding how the mind processes information – in particular visual information. The knowledge we can gain from these fields has important implications for the presentation of visual information and student learning.
Subwavelength-diameter silica wires for microscale optical components, at SPIE Europe International Symposium: Microtechnologies for the New Millennium (Sevilla, Spain), Tuesday, May 10, 2005:
talk_1078.pdf
Optical components built from structures that are tens of micrometers wide are playing a key role in current optical communication networks, optical sensors, and medical optical devices. The demand for improved performance, broader applications, and higher integration density, together with rapid advances in nanotechnology for electronics and optoelectronics, has spurred an effort to reduce the size of basic optical components. However, the miniaturization of optical components with subwavelength and nanometer-sized optical guiding structures through established fabrication methods is... Read more about Subwavelength-diameter silica wires for microscale optical components
How the mind tricks us: visualizations and visual illlusions, at SPS/GPA Physics Banquet, University of Massachusetts Lowell (Lowell, MA), Tuesday, May 3, 2005:
talk_1152.pdf
Neurobiology and cognitive psychology have made great progress in understanding how the mind processes information – in particular visual information. The knowledge we can gain from these fields has important implications for the presentation of visual information and student learning.
Femtosecond laser dissection of neurons in C. elegans, at Industrial Outreach Program, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Wednesday, April 27, 2005:
talk_1153.pdf
Tightly-focused femtosecond laser pulses of a few nanojoules sever individual dendrites in the nematode worm C. elegans. Quantification of the resulting behavioral deficits identifies the contribution of the dissected structures. The dissection has submicrometer resolution with no collateral damage, permitting precise studies on live animals. Future work include an examination of the molecular basis of neurodegeneration that has application to diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
Wrapping light around a hair: optical sensing at the nanoscale, at Working together: Research & Development Partnerships in Homeland Security (Boston, MA), Wednesday, April 27, 2005:
talk_1147.pdf
Can light be guided by a fiber whose diameter is much smaller than the wavelength of the light? Can we mold the flow of light on the micrometer scale so it wraps, say, around a hair? Until recently the answer to these questions was ‘no’. We developed a technique for drawing long, free-standing silica wires with diameters down to 50 nm that have a surface smoothness at the atomic level and a high uniformity of diameter. Light can be launched into these silica nanowires by optical evanescent coupling and the wires allow low-loss single-mode operation. They can be bent sharply, making it... Read more about Wrapping light around a hair: optical sensing at the nanoscale
Wrapping light around a hair, at AP298r Course, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Wednesday, March 16, 2005:
talk_1144.pdf
Can light be guided by a fiber whose diameter is much smaller than the wavelength of the light? Can we mold the flow of light on the micrometer scale so it wraps, say, around a hair? Until recently the answer to these questions was ‘no’. We developed a technique for drawing long, free-standing silica wires with diameters down to 50 nm that have a surface smoothness at the atomic level and a high uniformity of diameter. Light can be launched into these silica nanowires by optical evanescent coupling and the wires allow low-loss single-mode operation. They can be bent sharply, making it... Read more about Wrapping light around a hair

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