Gregory J. Quarles Elected SPIE Fellow

Gregory J. Quarles, director of research at optical components maker VLOC Inc. of New Port Richey, Fla., has been elected a SPIE fellow for his achievements in solid-state laser science and engineering. Quarles has contributed significantly to laser materials development, spectroscopy of solids doped with rare earth and transition metal ions, laser engineering, and laser physics, SPIE said in a statement. "His research has provided a better understanding of the dynamic processes of solid-state spectroscopy, physics of solid-state laser materials, and solid-state lasers designs and their applications. His seminal work in sensitizer-activator dynamics shed light on physics of energy transfer, energy migration and nonradiative processes in ion-doped solids and oxide gain materials operating in the near-infrared region of the spectrum," it said. "The research led to the design of efficient solid-state lasers for medical, military and industrial applications, specifically lamp- and diode-pumped 2-µm solid-state lasers, now used in applications such as coronary angioplasty and refractive eye surgery." Quarles has been an associate editor for the SPIE journal Optical Engineering and a member of SPIE's and Rudolf Kingslake Award committees. SPIE will honor 72 new fellows this year for their contributions to optics, photonics and imaging.