Professor David Nolte

Purdue University

The equations of electrodynamics possess time-reversal symmetry, and optics provides one of the best backdrops for dramatic demonstrations of the physics of classical time reversal. Prof. Nolte's group is testing the validity of the analogy between time reversal and the nonlinear generation of "time-reversed" light. by using magnetic fields they can identify which aspects of the time-reversal analogy hold deeply, and which are merely superficial. Prof. Nolte was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 1997 for his work on dynamic holography.