Prize Recipient

Yuen-Ron Shen
University of California, Berkeley

Citation:

"For his contributions to the basic understanding of the interaction of light with matter, and for his development of novel linear and nonlinear techniques for pioneering studies of semiconductors, liquid crystals, surfaces and interfaces."

Background:

Dr. Shen received his BS degree from the National Taiwan University in 1956 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1963. After a year of postdoctoral work at Harvard, he was appointed to the physics faculty of the University of California at Berkeley where he has been ever since. He has also been associated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 1966.

Dr. Shen's research interest is in the broad area of interaction of light with matter. He was involved in the early development of nonlinear optics, searching for basic understanding of various nonlinear optical phenomena. He is the author of the book, The Principles of Nonlinear Optics. He has applied nonlinear optics to studies of materials of all phases from gas and liquid to liquid crystal and solid. He has been interested in developing novel linear and nonlinear optical techniques for exploration of new areas of research. In recent years, he has been focusing on the development of surface nonlinear optical spectroscopies and their applications to many neglected, but important, areas of surface science.

Dr. Shen was a Sloan Fellow, a Gugggenheim Fellow, and a Humboldt Awardee. He has received several prestigious awards including the Charles H. Townes Award of the Optical Society of America in 1986, the 1992 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize of the American Physical Society, and the Max Planck Research Prize of the Max Planck Society, Germany in 1996. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the Academia Sinica. He also is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Selection Committee:

Thomas Timusk (Chair), Fred Pollak, Marvin L. Cohen, David Aspens, ('97 Rcpnt)