October 11, 1996
Contact: Brenda Ellis, (615) 322-2706
Vanderbilt physicist awarded FEL Prize
at conference in Rome
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Charles A. Brau, professor of physics and former
director
of the W.M. Keck Foundation Free-Electron Laser Center at Vanderbilt University,
recently received the FEL Prize at the 18th annual International Free-Electron
Laser Conference in Rome.
"I am enormously pleased to be included with a group of individuals
I respect very highly," said Brau, who has served on the conference's
executive committee. More than 250 scientists worldwide attended the conference.
The FEL Prize includes a monetary award and the responsibility of delivering
the first plenary address at the 19th International FEL conference in Beijing.
Brau, co-inventor of the excimer laser, has made major contributions to
the field of laser research. A former FEL project manager at the Los Alamos
National Laboratory, he left the Quantum Institute at Santa Barbara in 1988
to head the FEL research facility at Vanderbilt. His contributions to FEL
projects at Los Alamos and at Vanderbilt were cited by the award committee.
The free-electron laser is a research instrument with special characteristics
other lasers don't possess. Its light is emitted in very short pulses, which
enhances the ability to control the heat it generates. Also, the wavelength
of FEL beams can be adjusted precisely.
Until last year Brau directed the FEL development program at Vanderbilt.
His expertise centers on laser construction and electron-beam physics. Project
scientists use the free-electron laser for a variety of applications, including
some exciting medical research in neurosurgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology
and dermatology.
One project begun by Vanderbilt physician Frank E. Carroll and continued
with Brau's support has attracted a great deal of interest. The development
of monochromatic X-rays could have enormous impact on medical diagnostics
because it will improve the contrast between tissues, Brau said. For example,
it is hoped that with the use of the FEL, breast lesions not only can be
detected but also the determination of whether a lesion is malignant or
benign can be made without biopsy.
Brau's research emphasis as director of Vanderbilt's FEL center had concentrated
on getting the large machine up and running. He currently is building a
smaller, different FEL that will be used to demonstrate some basic physics
principles. "Smaller machines can be more exciting than large ones
because you can make progress faster and take bigger risks," said Brau.
"There's not so much time and money at stake."
-VU-
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