Robert A. Norwood

Professor of Optical Sciences

Contact Information

  • Telephone:
    520-626-0936
  • Email:
    rnorwood@optics.arizona.edu
  • Mailing Address:
    Dr. Robert A. Norwood
    University of Arizona
    Optical Sciences
    Meinel Building
    1630 East University Boulevard
    Tucson, Arizona  85721  USA

Education

  • PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1988

  • BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983

Employment

  • University of Arizona: Optical Sciences, Professor, 2009-present; Research Professor, 2004-2009.
  • Photon-X:  Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, 1999-2003.
  • AlliedSignal:  Senior Technical Leader, 1998-1999; Senior Project Leader, 1996-1998; Senior Research Scientist, 1995 – 1996.
  • Hoechst Celanese:  Staff Physicist/Project Leader, 1995; Special Assignment, AZ Photoresist, 1994-1995; Staff Physicist/Project Leader, 1993-1994; Senior Research Physicist, 1992-1993; Supervisor, Advanced Technology Laboratory, Hoechst Japan, 1992; Senior Research Physicist, 1990 - 1991; Research Physicist, 1988-1990.
  • Haverford College:  Visiting Instructor, 1988.
  • University of Pennsylvania:  Research and Teaching Fellow, 1983-1988

Professional Affiliations, Activities, and Honors

  • Optical Society of America Fellows Committee, 2009 –

  • SPIE Fellow

  • Optical Society of America Fellow

  • Program Committee, SPIE Organic Photonic Materials and Devices ( Photonics West), 2005  -

  • Subcommittee D Chair, Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference, 2006

  • Technical Program Committee, OFC 2003-2005

  • Conference Co-Chair, Linear and Nonlinear Optics of Organic Materials, 2004-2006

  • Conference Chair, Linear Optical Properties of Organic Materials, 1999-2003

  • Program Committee, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), 2002-2004

  • American Physical Society, Member

  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Member

  • Reviewer for: Applied Optics, Applied Physics Letters, Electronics Letters, Optics Express, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Optics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of the Optical Society of America B, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Chemistry of Materials, and agency proposals.  

Research

  • Primary long-term research goal is to further the understanding and performance of organic and polymeric materials and devices for photonics and electronics applications.

  •  Ongoing projects in:  hybrid electro-optic polymers devices for optical networks, silicon photonic based electro-optic polymer modulators, photorefractive polymers for 3D display, polymer/nanoparticle composites for photonics and electronics applications, polymeric magneto-optic materials and devices, athermal optical filters for DWDM networks, nonlinear optical materials and devices for ultrafast optical switching, materials and devices for single-photon switching, high efficiency plasmonic infrared emitters, materials for linear and nonlinear photonic crystals, organic photovoltaics, wireless sensor networks and sensors, tunable optical filters and nonlinear optical materials.

  • Additional research interests include engineered dielectric materials, materials for advanced photolithography, precision measurement of thin film linear optical properties, terahertz generation, and carbon nanotube based bolometers. 

11-2009