Laserfest

Public Evening Lecture

Robert L. Byer, Stanford University, USA

Thursday, 2nd September 2010

Time: 19:35
Lecture Hall A

“50 Years of Lasers; Meeting the challenges of the 21^st century”.

The public lecture is part of the Laserfest, which is a yearlong celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the laser. Through a wide range of events and activities Laserfest will inform about the pioneering development of the laser and its impact on technological innovation.

In the fifty years since the demonstration of the laser, coherent light has changed the way we work, communicate and play. The generation and control of light is critical for the meeting important challenges of the 21st century from fundamental science to the generation of energy. A look back at the early days of the laser will be contrasted to the recent break-thorughs in solid state lasers and the applications to fundamental science of gravitational wave detection, remote sensing, and laser induced fusion for energy production.