The Optical Society (OSA) has announced that Dr. Gregory Quarles has joined The Optical Society as Chief Scientist. In this position, Dr. Quarles is responsible for the scientific infrastructure of the society. This includes content development for OSA incubators, annual meetings and the establishment of partnerships with research laboratories around the world. Quarles is a globally recognized leader for his strategic partnerships with the federal government, industry and academia, as well as his innovative work in the progression of global materials research, specifically developing new laser devices for medical, military and industrial applications.

 “Greg is well-known in the photonics community and has served as a society volunteer and leader for more than 30 years—making him well-suited to lead OSA’s technical programs,” said Elizabeth Rogan, CEO of The Optical Society. “As we prepare to celebrate our 100th anniversary next year, Greg, along with our science advisors and technical program team, will be working with our members and volunteers to help OSA prepare for the next century of innovation.”

Quarles said, “The growth of the photonics field around the globe highlights the society’s role in disseminating technical content in meetings, exhibits, publications and advocacy. I look forward to expanding upon the vision for the society created one hundred years ago by Perley Nutting and group of nine scientists spanning from industry and academia. Today, we are a global society and optics and photonics touches most every aspect of modern life.”

Prior to The Optical Society, Quarles was a co-founder, Board member and Managing Partner of EdgeLight Incorporated, a start-up enterprise pioneering wearable light therapy in Tucson, Arizona. He has also managed his own consulting firm, as President and CEO of Opto-Electronic Management Network, since 2013, specializing in the lasers and materials industry, with primary focus on the defense, aerospace and the nanomaterials sectors. Prior to starting this consulting business, Quarles served as the CEO at B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc., a manufacturer of Opto-electronic technology-related products used for defense and law enforcement applications.

Quarles has been recognized with a number of honors, including the R&D 100 Award and the Department of the Navy Exceptional Performance Award. Most recently in 2015, the Memorial D.S. Rozhdestvensky Medal by The Russian Optical Society. Throughout his career, Quarles has been awarded five patents related to his research in solid-state lasers and has published over 100 peer-reviewed and conference publications.

Dr. Quarles earned a Ph.D. and MS in Physics and a dual BS in Math and Physics from Oklahoma State University. He has served as Assistant Editor for Optical Engineering and The IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics and is a Fellow of both The Optical Society and SPIE.