H. Walther - Böcker

Based on a special ONR seminar, Photons and Quantum Fluctuations draws together discoveries in nonclassical or "silent" light for research workers and postgraduates in quantum optics. With nonclassical light, noise is reduced in amplitude below that expected by previous applications of the uncertainty principles. Historians of science who wish to ponder the philosophical implications of these developments may also find this a useful volume.

Ode to a Quantum Physicist celebrates the scientific achievements of Marlan O. Scully on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. It combines personal reminiscences from other renowned physicists who have known and worked with him over the years and 60+ scientific articles from the frontiers of Quantum Optics inspired by the work of M. O. Scully. The topics of these articles, published in the special volume 179 of Optics Communications, range from classical optics via atomic physics and quantum mechanics to non-linear optics.

The book opens with special greetings from Tony Siegman, the former president of the Optical Society of America and Benjamin Bederson, the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Physical Review. A long time friend, Ali Javan, dating back to Marlan's MIT days, highlights some of Marlan's scientific contributions.Heidi Fearn's poems humanize physical phenomena and set the stage for the more personal reminiscences to come.

Friends and colleagues of Marlan from the various stages of his scientific life shed some light on his human side. These stories reflect the admiration and respect the quantum physics community holds for Marlan and bring out many humorous anecdotes of their interactions with him. Judy Scully, his wife, takes us through Marlan's youth and college years in Wyoming. Leon Cohen illuminates the Yale days and Marlan's interactions with Willis E. Lamb. Pierre Meystre describes his arrival in Tucson fromSwitzerland for his first postdoctoral position with Marlan. The move from Tucson to Albuquerque is one of Suhail Zubairy's memories. Herbert Walther shines light on the impact of the multi-national Marlan and in particular, on the Max-Planck-Institut fü Quantenoptik. Wolfgang Schleich looks at his mentorMarlan from a graduate student's point of view and opens the arena for Reesor Woodling's description of Marlan's cattle business. We conclude the trail by the article of Thomas Walther, Ed Fry and George Welsch, who bring us up to date with Marlan's activities in Texas A & M.

The actual birthday party and scientific celebration took place as a special two-day colloquium on Modern Trends in Quantum Optics at the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptic in Garching, Germany on June 29-30, 1999. Included in this book is the program of this meeting, as wel as some excerpts from the celebration, such as, the after dinner speech by Roy J. Glauber followed by a photo album of Marlan's life. The poems by Olga Kocharovskaya poetically describe Marlan's scientific achievements. The concluding talk by Bruce Shore, given at this meeting, begins the connection to the papers by Don Kobe, Danny Greenberger and Mark Hillary, and Shi-Yao Zhu et al. covering topics from gauge invariance via unbreakable codes to photonic band gaps. The articles from the special issue of Optics Communications conclude this Festschrift.

In tribute to the memory of Sergei Akhmanov, a pioneer in the field, Frontiers in Nonlinear Optics presents an overview of quantum electronics and nonlinear optics. The contributors, world leaders in this field, provide up-to-date surveys and current trends to ensure comprehensive coverage in all aspects of nonlinear optics. This fascinating collection is necessary reading both for researchers entering the field and for established researchers in nonlinear optics.

Based on a special ONR seminar, Photons and Quantum Fluctuations draws together discoveries in nonclassical or "silent" light for research workers and postgraduates in quantum optics. With nonclassical light, noise is reduced in amplitude below that expected by previous applications of the uncertainty principles. Historians of science who wish to ponder the philosophical implications of these developments may also find this a useful volume.

This volume contains the lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on IIAdvances in Laser Spectroscopyll the tenth course of the Europhysics School of Quantum Electronics, held under the supervision of the Quantum Electronics Division of the European Physical Society. The Institute was held at Centro "I Cappuccinill San Miniato, Tuscany, July 26, - August 7, 1981. The Europhysics School of Quantum Electronics was started in 1970 with the aim of providing instruction for young researchers and advanced students already engaged in the area of quantum elec- tronics or wishing to switch to this area from a different back- ground. From the onset, the School has been under the direction of Prof. F. T. Arecchi, then at the University of Pavia, now at the University of Florence, .and Dr. D. Roess of Siemens, Munich. In 1981, Prof. H. Walther, University of Munich and Max-Planck- Institut fUr Quantenoptik joined as director. Each year the Directors choose a subject of particular interest, alternating fundamental topics with technological ones, and ask colleagues specifically competent in a given area to take the scientific responsibility for that course.

The Fourth International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (FICOLS) was held in the Hotel Oberfahrt in Rottach-Egern, Tegernsee, June 11-15, 1979. Rottach-Egern is a well-known health resort situated on the southern end of Lake Tegernsee. As with the previous laser spectroscopy conferences in Vail, Megeve, and Jackson, the purpose of FICOLS was to provide ~n informal setting where an international group of scientists active in laser spectroscopy could discuss current problems and developments in the field. The program consisted essen­ tially of invited lectures with appropriate time provided for the latest postdeadline results. The conference was attended by 340 scientists representing 25 countries: Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada,- Peoples Re­ public of China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (FRG), Germany (GDR), Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Nether­ lands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.S.k,, U.S.S.R., and Yugoslavia. Unfortunately five of our colleagues from Japan who planned to attend the meeting could not come due to an interruption of airline schedules, Their absence was a distinct loss to the conference. However, their papers will be published in one of the forthcoming issues of the journal Applied Physics. Numerous people have contributed to making the conference a success. Especially we would like to thank the members of the steering committee for their advice concerning the program.

The High-Power Lasers and Applications Conference was held in Munich, June 20 - 22, 1977. The conference took place simultaneously with the "Laser 77, International Congress and Trade Fair" at the Munich Fair Ground. The meeting was a continuation of a series of colloquia on elec­ tronic transition lasers previously held in the United States. The main topics of the conference were: high-power VUV, UV, visible and IR la­ sers, including an analysis of laser systems, technology and laser con­ cepts. Also, some applications to nonlinear optics, chemical kinetics and spectroscopy, particularly with respect to isotope separation, were discussed. The conference was attended by 95 scientists representing Austria, Canada, England, Finland, Germany (FRG), Germany (GDR), France, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, and the U.S.A. The organizers acknowledge financial support from the Deutsche Forschungs­ gemeinschaft, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Air Force European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD) and the U.S. Army European Research Office, as well as from the companies Coherent Radiation, Spectra Physics and Cryophysics. Furthermore, we thank our colleagues Dr. Steven N. Suchard and Professor Jeffrey I. Steinfeld for coordinating the U.S. contribution to the conference. We are grateful to Frau Maischberger for administrative assistance.