Emil Wolf to Receive Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award

Emil Wolf has been named the winner of the 2008 Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award for his book Introduction to the Theory of Coherence and Polarization of Light. Published in October 2007 by Cambridge University Press, Wolf's book is the first to provide a unified treatment of the phenomena of coherence and polarization.

The biennial award is cosponsored by SPIE and the Optical Society of America (OSA), and will be presented at the OSA Frontiers of Optics 2008 meeting (October 19–23, 2008) at the Rochester, New York, Riverside Convention Center.

Members of the selection committee had high praise for Wolf's book. According to Jose Sasian, a professor at the College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, "The committee selected Emil Wolf's book for its excellent writing, rigor, and clarity. The decision was unanimous."

Emil Wolf is Wilson Professor of Optical Physics at the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York), and is co-author with Max Born of Principles of Optics, one of the most cited science books of the 20th century.

The Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award is funded by Joseph W. and Hon Mai Goodman and recognizes authorship of an outstanding book published in the last six years in the field of optics and photonics. The winner is chosen by an international panel sponsored jointly by OSA and SPIE.