Dr. Russell M. Kurtz

Russell Kurtz, Ph.D., received his SB in Electrical Engineering from MIT, and his PhD in Quantum Electronics and Optics from USC. Currently Chief Scientist at RAN Science & Technology, LLC, Dr. Kurtz has previously worked at such diverse companies as Physical Optics Corp., Hughes Aircraft, and The Aerospace Corp. During his 30 years as a professional scientist and engineer, he has successfully led 25 research, development, and engineering projects in FLIRs/NVS (NIR, MWIR, and LWIR), new laser materials and applications, nondestructive evaluation, high-resolution metrology, 3D and high-resolution displays, high-energy lasers, laser beam combination, hydrogen generation and purification, applications of holographic optical elements (HOEs), long-range detection and spectroscopy, photovoltaics, and vibrometry. Current research areas include laser optimization through material selection, combining acoustic and shearographic NDE, improving metrology through optical and software methods, and applications of photorefractivity to remote sensing. Dr. Kurtz has participated in 20 inventions and is the primary inventor on three patents pending. In addition to his Life Membership in SPIE, Dr. Kurtz is a Life Member of the Association of Old Crows, a Senior Member of IEEE, and a Member of OSA, DEPS, and AAAS. He has contributed to 23 conference proceedings and eight papers in peer-reviewed journals.