Elsa M. Garmire facts for kids

Elsa M. Garmire was born in Buffalo, New York, on November 9, 1939. She is a famous engineer and scientist. She is known for her work with laser technology. She also knows a lot about how light interacts with materials. This field is called nonlinear optics.

Elsa Garmire has invented devices that help with optical communications. These include lasers, waveguides, and detectors. She has been elected to important groups like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also part of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors.

She was a leader at The Optical Society (OSA). She served on its board and was its president in 1993. In 2019, she became the first woman to be an Honorary Member of OSA. This was for her amazing work in optics and her leadership.

Early Life and School

Elsa Garmire was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1939. Her father was a chemical engineer. He designed chemistry labs. Her mother taught music and played the violin.

Elsa's family moved often when she was young. Her father had trouble finding a good job during the Great Depression. Elsa decided to become a scientist when she was in sixth grade. She read a brochure about science careers.

In high school in the 1950s, she was a top student. She earned all A's. Elsa chose to go to Radcliffe College. This was a tough school that worked with Harvard College. She earned her degree in physics from Radcliffe in 1961. She was one of only three women studying physics there.

After Radcliffe, she went to MIT. She earned her PhD in physics in 1965. There, she worked with Professor Charles Townes. He won the Nobel Prize in 1964 for inventing the laser. Elsa was his first student at MIT.

She said the laser was invented just a year before she started grad school. Professor Townes asked her to work on the second laser ever sold. During her PhD, Elsa showed important effects of powerful laser beams. These beams acted on atoms and molecules.

Career and Discoveries

Elsa Garmire started her career at California Institute of Technology. She worked there as a senior research fellow. After a few years in industry, she joined the USC. At USC, she became a professor of electrical engineering and physics. She also directed the Center for Laser Studies.

In 1995, after 20 years at USC, Elsa moved to Dartmouth College. She became the dean of the Thayer School of Engineering. She was the first woman to hold this position. However, she was dean for only two years. She preferred to focus on her research.

Elsa Garmire has written over 250 journal papers. She also holds nine patents for her inventions. She has been on the editorial board of five technical journals. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She is also part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

She is a fellow of many important groups. These include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America. In 1994, she received an award from the Society of Women Engineers. She has also taught in Japan, Australia, Germany, and China.

In 1989, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. This was for her work in optics and her leadership in education.

Laser Art Projects

In 1968, Elsa Garmire joined a group called Experiments in Art and Technology. She used laser light to create art. For example, in 1969, she made a "laser wall." This wall was made of argon laser beams that people could walk through.

She also helped build "the world's largest hemispherical mirror." This was for the Pepsi Pavilion at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan.

In her lab, Elsa experimented with light patterns. She shone laser beams through clear materials like dried glue on glass. This created abstract shapes with bright colors. The shapes would slowly change as she rotated the material.

In 1970, filmmakers Ivan Dryer and Dale Pelton visited her lab. They filmed her moving laser patterns and added music. The short movie was called LaserImage. But it didn't capture the bright colors of live laser light.

In December 1970, they suggested a live laser show at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. It would be called Laserium. The director at the time said no.

Elsa later said she didn't patent her idea. She believed others should be able to use it. In 1971, she even showed a home laser light show on television.

In 1973, Ivan Dryer started a company called Laser Images Inc. Elsa Garmire was its president. The company used lasers for concerts and special events.

In June 1973, Dryer did a demonstration at Caltech. The new director of the Griffith Observatory saw it. He agreed to a one-month trial for Laserium. The first show was on November 19, 1973. It was very popular.

Elsa later left the company. She said she loved the classical music used in the shows. But when they switched to rock music, she decided to leave.

Elsa Garmire was not the first laser artist. But her work with Ivan Dryer made laser light shows very popular. The Laserium shows were presented in 46 cities. By 2002, over 20 million people had seen them.

Retirement

Elsa Garmire retired from Dartmouth in 2016. Joseph J. Helble, the dean of the Thayer School of Engineering, praised her work. He said she was a very important pioneer in laser development. She helped us understand how lasers work. Her discoveries led to things like semiconductor lasers, which are used everywhere today.

Awards

• 2019, Honorary Member of The Optical Society
• 2014, National Academy of Inventors® (NAI) Charter Fellow
• 2004, National Associate of the National Academies
• 1996, Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1994, Fellow, American Physical Society
• 1994, Achievement Award and Fellow, Society of Women Engineers
• 1989, Life Member, National Academy of Engineering
• 1980, Fellow and Life Member, Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers
• 1981, Fellow of The Optical Society of America (now The Optical Society)

See also

• Past Presidents of the OSA