Joseph W. Goodman Graduate Student Endowed Scholarship in Optical Sciences

Joseph W. Goodman, an accomplished optical scientist, has been a steadfast leader in both the academic and corporate aspects of the global optics community.

From 1963 through his retirement in January 2001, Goodman held various positions at Stanford University, including William E. Ayer Professor of Electrical Engineering, chair of the department of electrical engineering and senior associate dean for faculty and academic affairs of the School of Engineering. He has written four major textbooks: Introduction to Fourier Optics, Statistical Optics, Speckle Phenomena in Optics and, with R.M. Gray, Fourier Transforms: An Introduction for Engineers. He has also authored more than 220 technical papers and served as Ph.D. thesis advisor for 49 students. He is the co-founder of Roberts and Company Publishers.

Goodman’s expertise in the broad area of physical optics is widely acknowledged. His first full-length publication, in 1965, was named a Citation Classic by the Institute for Scientific Information. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, IEEE, the Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE. Among his many accolades are the OSA Frederic Ives Medal and the SPIE Gold Medal, both societies’ highest awards. An active participant in industry, he cofounded Optivision, ONI Systems and Nanoprecision Products.

This endowed FoTO scholarship was established by donations from friends, colleagues and former students of Joseph W. Goodman — lives undeniably enriched by this exceptionally talented teacher and mentor. Joe and Hon Mai Goodman, Masud and Annegret Mansuripur and Jeff and Marta Wilde are the leading donors to this scholarship.  

Eligibility: 

The Goodman Scholarship is open to talented first-year OSC graduate students from around the world, and selection is based on academic excellence. Ideally, candidates will hold a bachelor's degree in the physical or biological sciences, optics, engineering, mathematics, computer science or related fields; have a 3.7 or better GPA on a 4.0 scale; and demonstrate proficiency in English. Participation in extracurricular activities is also recommended.