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Emil Wolf died in June 2018 at the age of 95. The father of optical coherence theory was at the University of Rochester for nearly 60 years. A memorial in August at the university attracted more than 150 attendees from around the world.
Innovations in ‘sustainable’ photonics technologies such as free-space optical links and solar-powered equipment provide developing countries with new cost-effective opportunities for deploying future-proof telecommunication networks.
Nicolaas Bloembergen made rich contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance, masers and lasers, nonlinear optics and ultrafast laser–matter interactions. The Nobel laureate sadly passed away on 5 September 2017. Here are my memories of my Harvard mentor, a remarkable person and a wonderful scientist.
The creation of a global quantum network is now a realistic proposition thanks to developments in satellite and fibre links and quantum memory. Applications will range from secure communication and fundamental physics experiments to a future quantum internet.
