FULL ABSTRACT:

Changing the world with light: Optics and photonics for the future

Optics and photonics have played a crucial role in the development of technology, enabling new devices and functionalities that have changed our daily lives and shaped the world we live in. The internet, especially the long distance lines between continents and countries, only exists because of fiber optics, and this connection between distant lands has led to a globalized economy that has changed how the world does business. In our daily lives, computers and smartphones play a large role in both our personal and professional lives, allowing us to communicate instantly with people across the globe and giving us access to unlimited amounts of information. The development of optical storage devices like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray changed the film and TV industries, allowing for mass production and consumption of entertainment. Even things as basic as the light we use in our homes is shifting from the older incandescent light bulb to the more efficient LED. None of these technologies would be possible without optics and photonics.

So where will optics and photonics take us in the future? What new technologies are on the horizon for the near future? What about the far future? In this talk, I will review how optics and photonics are used in today’s technology, and I will discuss some of the current research areas and possible future applications. From automated vehicles to night vision cameras to quantum computers, the future is very bright.

Biography

Dr. Jay Mathews is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and the Electro-Optics and Photonics Graduate Engineering Program at the University of Dayton. He obtained his BS with double major in Physics and Mathematics from Colorado State University in 2007, and he received his PhD in Physics from Arizona State University in 2011. Following graduation, Dr. Mathews was awarded a fellowship in the National Academy of Sciences Research Associateship Program, where he performed research for the US Army’s Benet Laboratories at Watervliet Arsenal in NY until July 2013. He joined the Physics department at UD in 2013. Dr. Mathews received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award in 2016. He is the faculty adviser for the UD chapters of Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma. He is also the Vice Chair of the Ohio Region Section of the American Physical Society.

About the University of Dayton

The University of Dayton, founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, is a top ten Catholic research university.  The University seeks outstanding, diverse faculty and staff who value its mission and share its commitment to academic excellence in teaching, research and artistic creativity, the development of the whole person, and leadership and service in the local and global community.  To attain its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the principles of diversity, inclusion and affirmative action and to equal opportunity policies and practices.  We act affirmatively to recruit and hire women, traditionally under-represented minority groups, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.