Frank Tittel Named as International Society for Optical Engineering Fellow

Frank Tittel, the J.S. Abercrombie Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, a professor of bioengineering and a pioneer in the development of laser technology, has been named a fellow of the SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering.

SPIE, formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, was founded in 1955 and has more than 17,000 members.

A member of the Rice University faculty for 46 years, Tittel is being honored for his “clear demonstration of significant technical contributions in one or more fields of optical, photo-optical and optoelectronic applied science and engineering.”

At Rice, Tittel created one of the world’s first tunable lasers, with a wavelength that could be set to specific frequencies. It became critical to many advances in laser applications and to the development of spectroscopy. He has focused on basic research in nonlinear optics, novel solid state and gas laser development and applied spectroscopy. He has worked closely with Robert Curl, University Professor Emeritus, the Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus and professor emeritus of chemistry, to develop state-of-the-art computerized laser spectrometers. Their most recent designs employ telecommunications technology and quantum cascade lasers to create compact, robust instrumentation useful in field applications by NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Institutes of Health.

Tittel will formally become an SPIE Fellow at the Photonics West Fellows Luncheon Feb. 3 in San Francisco.