Thomas M. Baer

President-Elect

Thomas M. Baer

Stanford Photonics Research Center Ginzton Lab AP 207 Stanford University 450 Via Palou Stanford, CA 94305 USA Office of President-Elect

Thomas Baer has been active in many scientific areas employing optics: atomic and molecular spectroscopy, optical metrology, ultra-fast lasers, pulse compression, solid-state lasers, laser scanning fluorometry of blood cells, laser capture microdissection of biopsy samples and microgenomics. He has worked in industry and academia, and has participated in a number of successful collaborations with academic and government research groups, resulting in numerous successful commercial products that incorporate lasers and optics.

Tom graduated with a B.A. in physics from Lawrence University and received his Ph.D. in 1979 from the University of Chicago, where he studied atomic physics with Isaac Abella and Ugo Fano. After that, he worked with John Hall at JILA on high resolution spectroscopy and co-invented new techniques for frequency stabilizing lasers.

In 1981, he joined Spectra-Physics (SP), where he held positions as vice president of research and Spectra-Physics Fellow. His research there focused on ultra-fast lasers, pulse compression, diode-pumped solid-state lasers and non-linear optics. His group developed and patented the first commercial optical pulse compressor, high power, fiber-coupled diode-pumped solid-state lasers, and mode-locked Ti-Sapphire lasers. His commercial products received several industry awards for design innovation.

After leaving SP, he joined Biometric Imaging (BMI) and changed his research focus to biophotonics. At BMI, he led an interdisciplinary group that developed the scanning laser instruments used in diagnostic tests for bone marrow transplant therapy and immune system monitoring in AIDS patients. 

Following his departure from BMI, Tom founded Arcturus Bioscience and served as CEO and chairman until 2005. Arcturus Bioscience pioneered the area of microgenomics—the precise molecular analysis of microscopic tissue samples. Arcturus technology is widely used in life science research laboratories and in molecular diagnostic tests for cancer.
He left the company in 2005 and joined Stanford University, where he is the executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center and a member of the Applied Physics department. Tom has co-authored scientific publications in the fields of atomic physics, quantum electronics, laser applications and biotechnology.

He is an inventor on over 60 U.S. patents and was named entrepreneur of the year for emerging companies in Silicon Valley in 2000 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, and has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Lawrence University. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Tom also serves on visiting committees and advisory groups with NIST, NIH and the Physical Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. Tom has held many leadership positions within OSA since joining the society in 1975. He was general chair of CLEO in 1994 and the OSA Annual Meeting in 1997. He was elected to the OSA Board of Directors in 1992. He has been division chair of both the Quantum Electronics Division and the Optics in Biology and Medicine Division. Tom currently serves as a member of the OSA Strategic Planning Committee and will serve as President of OSA in 2009.