Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory



NIF & PS People - 2016

November

Ibo Matthews Elected Optical Society Fellow

LLNL physicist Manyalibo (Ibo) Matthews has been elected a Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA). He was recognized by OSA for his “outstanding contributions and sustained leadership in the field of high power laser-induced damage science, laser-material interactions and processing, and vibrational spectroscopy-based materials characterization.”

Matthews, deputy group leader in the Target Science and Optical Materials Capabilities Group within the Materials Science Division of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate (primarily matrixed to the NIF & Photon Science Directorate) joined LLNL in 2006. His research interests include novel applications in laser-assisted material processing, optical damage science, vibrational spectroscopy, and in situ optical characterization of transient processes.

Ibo Matthews Inspects Test BenchIbo Matthews inspects an in situ diagnostics test bench his team developed for studying laser-driven powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. High-speed thermal and optical mapping of the laser-powder interaction has enabled the team to reveal new physics associated with the process and help guide high-performance computing simulations. Credit: Julie Russell

“Being elected OSA fellow is truly an honor,” Matthews said. “I am humbled to be joining the ranks of other fellows at LLNL and elsewhere, whom I continue to look up to for inspiration.”

Prior to joining LLNL, Matthews was a member of technical staff at Bell Labs, where he worked on materials characterization of optical devices using novel spectroscopic techniques, stress-induced birefringence management in planar optical devices and research in advanced broadband access networks. Matthews holds a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from the University of California, Davis and a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (see “Ibo Matthews: A Broadening Career in Science”).

The number of OSA fellows is limited to less than 10 percent of the total OSA membership and the number elected each year is less than 0.5 percent of the current membership total. OSA fellows are selected on a variety of criteria, such as a record of significant publications or patents related to optics, achievements in optics, management ability and service to OSA or the global optics community.