Calendar

Time : 1.30pm, Thursday 4th September

Location : SUPA Grid Room, John Anderson Building (JA8.13), Physics Department, Strathclyde University.

(The presentation can be relayed to the other SUPA Grid Rooms, contact r.w.martin@strath.ac.uk if interested)

Specific developments in optical technologies over the last forty years including, refractive materials, thin film coatings, surface profiles and sensor architecture will be discussed. A compendium of optical designs employing some of these developments will be described. A novel optical system that utilizes many of these developments will be illustrated and explained with reference to possible applications.

Biography: Iain A. Neil is an Optical Consultant based out of Lugano, Switzerland and his company, ScotOptix, contracts globally with optical technology companies; providing technical, business and intellectual property expertise with specialization in zoom lenses and multi-configuration optical systems. Previously, he was employed as Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Technical Officer at Panavision Inc., Manager Systems Engineering at Ernst Leitz Canada Ltd. (now Raytheon) and Head of Optical Design at Barr & Stroud Ltd (now Thales). He has over 150 worldwide optically related patents issued and applied for, has published and edited 30+ papers and books and has garnered 11 Academy Awards, 2 Emmy's and the Fuji Gold Medal. In 2003, he was awarded Alumnus of the Year from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, and in 2004 became Visiting Professor of their Department of Physics. He has been active in the optics industry for over 30 years and is currently a member of SPIE, OSA, SMPTE, ASC and A.M.P.A.S.