Prize Recipient

Thomas R. Clark
University of Maryland

Citation:

"For his comprehensive elucidation of the hydrodynamics and the optical mode structure of the plasma waveguide.

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Background:

Thomas R. Clark, Jr. received the B.S. degree from Loyola College of Maryland in 1991, the M.S. degree from Lehigh University in 1993, and the Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1998, all in physics. His Ph.D. Dissertation in experimental physics detailed the hydrodynamical and optical properties of a laser-produced plasma waveguide. His graduate research included the fields of plasma physics, nonlinear optics and high intensity laser-matter interactions.

In 1998 he joined the Optical Sciences Division of the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. as a research physicist. His current research interests are in the development of low noise ultrafast fiber laser systems, photonic analog-digital conversion, high-speed photonic devices, and noise characterization of photonic systems.

Dr. Clark is a member of Sigma Pi Sigma, the Optical Society of America and the American Physical Society.

Selection Committee:

Amitava Bhattacharjee (Chair), Thomas M O'Neil, Bruno Coppi (1998 Recipient Advisor), Linda Vahala (Vice Chair), Walter Gekelman