Kelly Simmons Potter

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Associate Professor of Optical Sciences

Contact Information

  • Telephone:
    520-626-0525
  • Email:
    kspotter@ece.arizona.edu
  • Mailing Address:
    Dr. Kelly Simmons Potter
    University of Arizona
    ECE Building 104
    1230 East Speedway
    Tucson, Arizona  85721  USA

Education

  • PhD, University of Arizona, 1994

  • MS, University of Arizona, 1990

  • BS, Florida State University at Tallahassee, 1986

Employment

  • The University of Arizona: Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2003-present; Associate Professor, Optical Sciences, 2004-present

  • Sandia National Laboratories:  Principal Member of the Technical Staff, 1995-2003; Post-Doctoral Researcher, 1994-1995

  • Naval Research Laboratory: Optical Sciences Division, Graduate Research Fellow, 1989

  • University of Florida at Gainesville: Graduate Assistant, 1987

  • Florida State University at Tallahassee: Undergraduate Student Assistant, 1985

  • Universite de Rennes, Rennes, France, Research Assistant, 1984

  • Catholic University of America, Student Assistant, 1984 and 1983

Professional Affiliations, Activities, and Honors

  • Member Optical Society of America (OSA)
  • Member Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
  • Member American Ceramic Society (ACerS)
  • Member Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
  • Member American Physical Society (APS)
  • Member Coalition for Excellence in Science Education (CESE)
  • Member Scholarship Committee, 2000 - New Mexico Section of the Society of Women Engineers
  • Treasurer, 1997 through 1999 – New Mexico Section of the Society of Women Engineers
  • Member Scholarship Committee, 2000 - New Mexico Section of the American Ceramic Society
  • Materials Research Society Book Reviewer
  • Session Organizer/Chair for numerous American Ceramic Society and SPIE meeting symposia
  • Program Committee for Optical Materials program at SPIE Opto Southwest, Tucson, AZ September 2001
  • FY01 Chairman SNL Physics and Chemistry Colloquium committee, FY99, FY00 and FY02 committee member
  • Technical reviewer for 2001/2002 DOE SBIR/STTR proposals
  • Instructor/Presenter at “Expanding Your Horizons” workshop in 1999, 2000, 2001.  Workshop titles have included:  Catch the Wave:  Surfing with Lasers, May the Force Be With You:  Lasers, Phasors and Special Effects, and Beam Me Up, Scotty - Lasers and Light
  • Mentor for SNL STAR program in cooperation with UNM/NASA Sharp program
  • Awarded 5 Sandia National Laboratories Awards for Excellence, 1999-2002.
  • Nominated for the I.C.G. 1998 W. Weyl Award.
  • Nominated for 1998 YWCA Women on the Move Award.
  • Awarded The 1995 Norbert J. Kreidl Award For Young Scholars by The Glass and Optical Materials Division of The American Ceramics Society.  Submission title: “Dynamics of Absorption Band Bleaching and Growth in Photosensitive 45% GeO2-55% SiO2 Films.”
  • Awarded Office of Naval Research Graduate Fellowship:  August 1987 - December 1990.
  • Member Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society
  • Member Golden Key National Honor Society
  • Qualified Phi Beta Kappa

Textbook

  • Optical Materials, J. H. Simmons and K. S. Potter, Academic Press (2000).

Patents, Patent Disclosures, and Reports

  • U.S. Patent No. 6,368,775, “3-D Photo-Patterning of Refractive Index Structures in Photosensitive Thin Film Materials.”  Issued April 9, 2002
  • U.S. Patent No.  6,593,062, “Formation of Bulk Refractive Index Structures.”  Issued July, 15, 2003

Research

  • Development of elements for integrated optical systems using both optically active and passive novel photowritable materials.  Examination of single and multi-photon processes leading to both linear and non-linear response in optical materials as a result of exposure to either ionizing or non-ionizing radiation.  Research into the impact of defect physics on material optical behavior, waveguide device design and optical device performance is particularly emphasized.