Established FoTO Scholarships

Thanks to the gracious donations of the Friends of Tucson Optics, the University of Arizona Foundation has opened accounts in honor of seven distinguished optical scientists and will collect contributions until each fund reaches $500,000. At that point, the named scholarship will officially commence. 

	Nicolaas Bloembergen Bloembergen, professor of optical sciences, shared half of the 1981 Nobel Prize with Arthur L. Schawlow for their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy, the study of atomic systems using laser light. Dr. Bloembergen is known as the father of nonlinear optics.
	Charles Falco Falco is a professor of optical sciences, the University of Arizona Chair of Condensed Matter Physics and the co-author of the controversial Hockney-Falco Thesis, in which Dr. Falco and artist David Hockney claim that 14th-century artists used optical instruments to improve their paintings. Their thesis ignited an international imbroglio that continues to be hotly debated among art and science historians, curators, critics, physicists and artists.
	Peter Franken A distinguished physicist and the second director of the Optical Sciences Center, Franken's legacy at OSC includes the recruitment of a number of world-class faculty members and the expansion of research funding to include the National Science Foundation and many industrial companies. Dr. Franken is fondly remembered for his warmth, his sparkling sense of humor and his talent for bringing out the best in everyone.
	Joseph W. Goodman A professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, Goodman is also a former president of the Optical Society (OSA) and the author of Introduction to "Fourier Optics," "Statistical Optics" and, with R.M. Gray, "Fourier Transforms: An Introduction for Engineers." The Joseph W. Goodman and Hon Mai Goodman Foundation provides funding for the joint SPIE/OSA Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award, first granted in 2006.
	Ibn al-Haytham   Also known as Alhazen or Alhacen, this 11th century mathematician, astronomer and physicist is widely considered the father of modern optics for his extensive writings on lenses, mirrors, refraction and reflection. His seven-volume work, "Book of Optics," transformed the ancient Greek understanding of vision and provided the foundation for the later work of Kepler, Fermat and Descartes.
	Roland V. Shack The Optical Sciences Center's first faculty member, Shack shares credit for creating UA's optics program — and its world-class reputation. He taught the principles of optics to several generations of optical engineers in his courses on optical testing, geometrical optics, lens systems, aberration theory and diffraction theory. He is known for his particular way of combining unusual insight, optics, creativity, art, practicality and genuine interest in his students.

To contribute to one of these scholarships or to establish a new award honoring another distinguished optical scientist, please contact Kaye Rowan, director of development, at rowan@optics.arizona.edu or 520-626-8754.