ROCKY MOUNTAIN SECTION OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
                              &
           IEEE LASERS AND ELECTROOPTICS SOCIETY


                        Apr. Meeting

Date:  Thursday, 19 Apr. 2001
Time:  7:00 PM refreshments, 7:30 PM talk
Place: National Institute of Standards and Technology
       325 Broadway, Boulder, CO
       Room 1107


Title: Ultrafast Laser and X-Rays - Life in the Fast Lane

       Prof. Margaret Murnane
       JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder
       Boulder, CO 80309-0440
       (303) 492-7839
       murnane@jila.colorado.edu
       http://www.grc.uri.edu/programs/2001/nonlopti.htm

       IEEE/LEOS Distinguished Lecturer


Abstract:

During the past decade, there has been a revolution in the 
field of  ultrafast science. Visible light pulses of only a 
few optical cycles can now be generated from a simple laser. 
By amplifying these pulses to  ultra-high peak powers, 
visible laser beams can be converted into coherent,  
ultrafast, x-ray beams. Moreover, using feedback algorithms, 
we can "teach"  a laser to generate an optimally-shaped light 
pulse, to increase the  brightness of the generated x-rays, 
and to channel laser energy into a  specific x-ray 
wavelength.[1,2] This is possible by adjusting the crests of 
the laser field on a sub-cycle (attosecond) timescale. 
Applications in  chemical and material dynamics will also be 
discussed.

[1] Nature 406, 164-166, 2000.
[2] Physics Today, Search and Discovery, September 2000.


Biography:

-------------------
Education
---------------
Ph.D. in Physics, University of California at Berkeley (1989)
M.Sc. in Physics, University College Cork, Ireland (1983)
B.Sc. Honors in Physics, University College Cork, Ireland 
(1981)

Professional Experience
------------------------------------
Professor of Physics and EECS, University of Colorado, 
Boulder, CO (August  1999 - present)
Associate Professor, EECS and Physics, University of 
Michigan, Ann Arbor,  MI (1996 - 1999)
Associate Professor of Physics, Washington State University, 
Pullman, WA (1995)
Assistant Professor of Physics, Washington State University, 
Pullman, WA  (1990 - 1995)
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Berkeley 
(1989 - 1990)
Research Assistant, University of California at Berkeley, 
Ph.D. Research  (1984-1989)

Honors
-----------
2001 Loeb Lecturer, Harvard University
2000 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow
1998 Fellow of the Optical Society of America
1997 Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award of the American Physical 
Society
1993 Presidential Faculty Fellowship of the National Science 
Foundation
1992 Sloan Foundation Fellowship
1991 Presidential Young Investigator Award of the National 
Science Foundation
1990 Simon Ramo Award of the American Physical Society
University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship 
(1989 - 1990)
Regents Fellowship, University of California at Berkeley 
(1984-85)
University Fellowship, University of California at Berkeley 
(1983-84)
Pfizer Postgraduate Scholarship, Pfizer Chemical, Ireland 
(1983)
College Scholarship, University College Cork, Ireland (1977-
81)

Professional Affiliations
----------------------------------
American Physical Society (APS); Optical Society of America 
(OSA);
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE); 
Association for  Women in Science (AWIS)