Abstract

The global challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic and the longer-term effects of climate change require coordinated efforts by the scientific and engineering communities to respond to these crises by providing new technological solutions.

These new technologies can provide critical information to government officials to guide them as they put in place evidence-based governmental policies to mitigate and adapt to these major challenges.

Prof. Thomas Baer of Stanford University will discuss recent joint international programs sponsored by the Optical Society (OSA) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for developing and deploying photonics instrumentation to address measurement challenges presented by the COVID 19 pandemic and climate change. These programs are coordinating the activities of international teams of OSA and AGU scientists and engineers and are providing them with the opportunities to productively engage with government officials in their regions and make significant contributions to meeting these global challenges.

Biography

Thomas Baer is the Executive Director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center, an adjunct professor in the Applied Physics Department, and an Associate Member of the Stem Cell Institute at Stanford University. His laboratory develops instrumentation for life science and biomedical research employing custom optical, mechanical, microfluidic, and electronic designs. His current scientific research is focused on developing imaging and biochemical analysis technology for exploring the molecular basis of human developmental biology and regenerative medicine, optogenetics, and developing new technologies for protein engineering and vaccine development. He holds over 80 patents and his commercial products have received many industry awards for design innovation. He has been elected to the status of Fellow in three international scientific societies: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and The Optical Society of America (OSA). He served as OSA President in 2009 and is currently chair of a multi-scientific society committee coordinating international programs in environmental measurement and monitoring and global health.

Contact Michele Tharp for Zoom link.

Seminar sponsored by the Department of Electrical Engineering