Physics Chair Gives Opening Presentation at International Conference

David Shealy, Ph.D., chairman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physics, presented the opening paper at the recent International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology in San Diego. Shealy was invited by the group to give the opening presentation on “Theory of Geometrical Methods for Design of Laser Beam Shaping Systems.” He also co-authored papers with two previous graduate students, co-chaired sessions and was a member of the conference program committee.

August 3, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — David Shealy, Ph.D., chairman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physics, presented the opening paper at the recent International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology in San Diego. Shealy was invited by the group to give the opening presentation on “Theory of Geometrical Methods for Design of Laser Beam Shaping Systems.” He also co-authored papers with two previous graduate students, co-chaired sessions and was a member of the conference program committee.

According to Shealy, laser beam shaping redistributes laser intensity and provides uniformity.

“It is like taking a photo,” Shealy said. “If part of the subject matter is in the sun and part in the shade, the photo is hard to develop, some areas will be over-developed and others will be under-exposed. The problem is similar with lasers, the center of the beam is bright and the edge of the beam is too weak. In shaping the beam, intensity is rearranged using optical elements [lenses and mirrors] to give a more uniform intensity.”

Applications for use of the shaped laser beams include illuminations in medicine, holography, optical processing, spectroscopy, photography, lithography, materials processing and micro-electronics to name only a few.

Shealy also wrote three chapters of Laser Beam Shaping Techniques, a new book edited by conference chair Fred Dickey and Scott C. Holswade, both of Sandia National Lab. The book was published in July and provides all the basic information to research, develop and design beam-shaping systems. It is the first book published on laser beam shaping and can be used in graduate physics courses or in optics as a reference book.

In addition to his duties as department chairman and professor, Shealy also is director of Academic Computing. He came to UAB in 1973 with a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Georgia and is credited with building the Department of Physics at UAB. Shealy, while on sabbatical leave from UAB, worked as principal engineer and staff scientist at the semiconductor laboratories at Motorola Inc. in 1981. His honors include being named a fellow of the Optical Society of America in 1988, winning the Alabama Section Research Paper Award, in 1984 and Silver Quill Awards for the Motorola Semiconductor Product Sector in 1982.