Laser spectroscopy expert Gerard Wysocki elected Optical Society Fellow

Written by
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Nov. 14, 2022

Gerard Wysocki, an expert in laser spectroscopy and photonic sensing systems, has been elected a Fellow of Optica, the leading professional organization dedicated to the science of light.

Founded in 1916 as the Optical Society of America, Optica has since grown to include more than 20,000 members across dozens of countries. The society’s board of directors elected 109 Fellows for the 2023 class. Wysocki, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, was recognized for “the development of novel dispersion spectroscopic techniques, broadband semiconductor mid-infrared lasers and frequency comb sensors, and service to scientific community,” according to the citation.

Wysocki’s work focuses largely on studies of light-matter interactions and on development of optical and spectroscopic sensing techniques for variety of real-world applications, including environmental sensing or medical diagnostics. His laser-based spectroscopic systems routinely reach fundamental quantum-noise detection limits and provide non-invasive and rapid chemical analysis in compact, field-deployable sensors and sensor networks. Wysocki and his research group develop the underlying sensing and laser technologies that enable those systems and demonstrate their applications to challenging problems including ultra-sensitive chemical sensing in harsh combustion environments, human metabolic studies and drone-assisted monitoring of trace gases over large geographical areas. Such innovations are key in enabling new science and technologies that can reveal accidental gas leaks or unauthorized industrial emissions.

For the past three years, Wysocki has served as General Congress Chair for Optica’s Optical Sensing and Sensors Congress and as the Sensors Development Chair on Optica’s Board of Meetings. He is also an associate editor of Optica, the society’s flagship journal. Wysocki has received multiple awards including the NSF CAREER Award, the Masao Horiba Award in analytical science, and the Peter Werle Early Career Scientist Award. In 2018, he was given a distinguished alumni award from Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, where he completed his master’s degree. He joined the Princeton faculty in 2008.