Innovative Research

2009 Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction Honors Physics Professor

Physicist Sergey Mirov, Ph.D., won the 2009 Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction for his internationally renowned work in the fields of laser physics, laser spectroscopy, and solid state physics. Mirov, who is the co-director of the UAB Center for Optical Sensors and Spectroscopies, founded Photonics Innovations in 2007 and patented his “optical nose,” a laser technology that could impact the fields of medicine, environmental sciences, and even counterterrorism.

A dinner honoring the physics professor took place on March 6 at The Club, where he gave a lecture titled “UAB Lasers: The Past and the Future.”

“While Professor Mirov is an internationally recognized leader in laser physics and spectroscopy, what makes him so unique is that his research activities range from basic physics and materials research to the development of devices and techniques that can benefit mankind and are commercially viable,” says Lowell Wenger, Ph.D., dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, who introduced Mirov at the dinner.

Through the Ireland endowment, each year the Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction recognizes, rewards, and encourages scholarly distinction in the arts and sciences by providing a $5,000 cash award to a full-time UAB faculty member in the schools of Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Maintaining the Momentum / Summer/Fall 2009