Dr. Marlan O. Scully to deliver inaugural Paint Branch lecture at University of Maryland

Waco, TX - Dr. Marlan O. Scully, Distinguished Research Academician of Science & Engineering at Baylor University, has been selected to deliver the inaugural lecture in the Paint Branch Distinguished Lecture in Applied Physics at the University of Maryland's Institute for Research in Electronics & Applied Physics. The event will be held October 19, 2015.

The lecture series was endowed in 2014, "with the intention to bring luminaries in the field of Applied Physics" to address the community. Scully will speak on his application of quantum coherence to the remote detection of hazardous gases and vapor indicators of explosives in the atmosphere through "backward air lasing." In addition to the obvious security and safety applications of the technology, the concept holds promise in sensing the condition of agricultural crops, among other potential applications.

A pioneer in laser physics, Scully worked with 1955 Nobel Prize laureate Willis E. Lamb to propose the first quantum theory of the laser. He has been credited with many significant discoveries and developments in laser theory and application. Scully directs Baylor's Quantum Optics Laboratory in addition to holding appointments at Princeton and Texas A&M universities. He has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Society (Germany), and has received many national and international awards for his contributions to science.