Robert Alfano is Distinguished professor of Science and Engineering at the City College

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

 of the City University of New York

City University of New York

The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

, where he is the director of Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers. He works mainly in the field of Biomedical Imaging

Medical imaging

Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...

 and Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...

, Ultrafast lasers

Ultra fast laser spectroscopy

Ultra-fast laser spectroscopy is the study of molecules on extremely short time scales after their excitation with a pulsed laser. This method is used extensively to examine the energy states and electron dynamics of any molecule whose reaction to light is of interest...

 and optics, tunable laser

Tunable laser

A tunable laser is a laser whose wavelength of operation can be altered in a controlled manner. While all laser gain media allow small shifts in output wavelength, only a few types of lasers allow continuous tuning over a significant wavelength range....

s, semiconductor materials

Semiconductor materials

Semiconductor materials are nominally small band gap insulators. The defining property of a semiconductor material is that it can be doped with impurities that alter its electronic properties in a controllable way...

 and devices, optical materials

Optical Materials

Optical Materials is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original papers and review articles on the design, synthesis, characterisation and applications of materials, suitable for various optical devices...

, biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

, nonlinear optics

Nonlinear optics

Nonlinear optics is the branch of optics that describes the behavior of light in nonlinear media, that is, media in which the dielectric polarization P responds nonlinearly to the electric field E of the light...

 and photonics

Photonics

The science of photonics includes the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, detection and sensing of light. The term photonics thereby emphasizes that photons are neither particles nor waves — they are different in that they have both particle...

. He has published over 700 papers in referred journals and has over 100 patents. Alfano is of Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 origin.

Academic Career and Achievements

Alfano obtained his bachelors and masters degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...

 in 1963 and 1964, and obtained his doctorate in 1972 from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

. He also worked at the GTE Research Labs, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 during his graduate school years. He joined City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

 as an associate professor in 1972, where he continues till present. Robert Alfano received the Charles Hard Townes Award in 2008 for his discovery of the Supercontinuum

Supercontinuum

In optics, a supercontinuum is formed when a collection of nonlinear processes act together upon a pump beam in order to cause severe spectral broadening of the original pump beam. The result is a smooth spectral continuum...

, one of the highest awards given by The Optical Society of America

Optical Society of America

The Optical Society is a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light—optics and photonics—in theory and application, by means of publishing, organizing conferences and exhibitions, partnership with industry, and education. The organization has members in more than 100 countries...

. He was awarded the Leonardo Da Vinci Award. He has generated over $60M in grants, authored 704 papers, is a listed inventor on 106 patents, and has accumulated over 10,000 citations in his lifetime.

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