The 2,165th Meeting of the Society

September 26, 2003

Herschel to Ritter

Synchrotron Light and Its Applications

Uwe Arp

National Institute of Standards and Technology

About the Lecture

Synchrotron light covers the electromagnetic spectrum from microwaves to x-rays. The recent bicentennials of the discovery of infrared and ultraviolet light motivate this look into the history of light and its relation to synchrotron radiation. The Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF) at NIST was one of the first dedicated facilities in the world. It covers the spectral range from the far infrared to the extreme ultraviolet, also called the generalized optical spectrum. We will have a look into the history of SURF in relation to the history of light and synchrotron light. We will also show what currently is going on at SURF.

About the Speaker

Uwe Arp has been employed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2001. Before that he was employed by the University of Maryland and at the same time visiting scientist at NIST. He is responsible for synchrotron radiation applications, optical design, accelerator physics and electron beam diagnostics at the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility SURF III. He also represents the SURF program to the outside world. His research interests include atomic and molecular physics, photoelectron emission microscopy, infrared spectromicroscopy, optical design and accelerator physics as related to synchrotron radiation. He was a Feodor-Lynen fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation from 1993-1995 in the group of the late Dr. Deslattes at NIST. He also worked as a guest scientist in Sweden, France, Japan, Ireland and Spain. Born and grown up in Hamburg, Germany. M.S. in Physics and Astronomy, University of Hamburg, 1989 and Ph.D. in Physics, University of Hamburg, 1993, both earned in the group of Professor Bernd Sonntag at HASYLAB/DESY in atomic physics with synchrotron radiation. He is a member of the American Physical Society and the German Physical Society.