November 2004 NUI Galway Scientists elected to key International Organisations

Two NUI Galway scientists, carrying out advanced research in Optics have become the first Ireland-based scientists to be elected to the principal organisations governing the activities of the Optics community worldwide. Both scientists are based in NUI Galway's Department of Experimental Physics.

Professor Chris Dainty has been elected vice-president of the Optical Society of America, which has over 14,000 members in over 80 countries, while Professor Tom Glynn has been elected to the Board of Directors of SPIE, the Society for Optical Engineering, with over 18,000 members around the world.

The appointments mark the first occasion that a single institution outside the US has been represented on the boards of these important optics organisations, dedicated to advancing Optics and Photonics. Each of the scientists was part of a short list presented to the membership, who voted to select governing boards for a 3-year period, beginning in January 2005.

"This is a singular honour for our scientists and an indication of the reputations that the NUI Galway research groups have established in the lasers and optics communities worldwide," said Dr. Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, President of NUI Galway. "The research strength of the University has been significantly increased in recent years through our success in the Government's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and research carried out in the University is achieving global recognition".

Since October 2002, Professor Chris Dainty is Science Foundation Ireland Research Professor in the Department of Physics at NUI Galway, where his research group works in imaging, adaptive optics, and instrumentation for vision science. He is particularly interested in the applications of optics in the diagnosis and treatment of various conditions in the eye and in applying adaptive optics to the human eye, primarily to produce very high-resolution images of the retina in vivo.

Professor Tom Glynn was recently appointed Professor of Experimental Physics in NUI Galway and is founder and current director of the National Centre for Laser Applications (NCLA), also based in the Department of Physics. The laser group carries out research, training, prototyping, and technology transfer activities in the area of high-power lasers and their applications. The NCLA has extensive collaborations with industry partners in Ireland.

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