Stephen Geoffrey Lipson
Israeli physicist
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Stephen (Steve) Geoffrey Lipson (born 8 January 1941) is an Israeli-British physicist. He is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Technion and lead author of the textbook "Optical Physics".[1][2][3]
Stephen Geoffrey Lipson | |
|---|---|
Steve Lipson in class (circa 1970) | |
| Born | 8 January 1941 |
| Education | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Workplaces | |
| Brian Pippard | |
Background
Lipson was born in Cambridge, England, to Jane Rosenthal and Henry Lipson. His father was a pioneer in the field of Crystallography, which exposed Lipson to physics from a young age. In 1945 he moved with his parents to Manchester, where he attended Manchester Grammar School and won a physics scholarship from Trinity College, Cambridge.[4]
At Cambridge, Lipson pursued undergraduate studies in Physics and Mathematics (1958-1961), and a PhD in Physics (1961-1966) at the Cavendish Laboratory under the supervision of Brian Pippard.[5] In 1966, he joined Technion, retiring as a full professor in 2009.[2]
Research
During his tenure at the Technion, Lipson held the El-Op Chair of Electro-Optics[6] and conducted research and authored over 240 papers in the fields of low temperature physics and optical physics. He also coauthored several textbooks and monographs.[1][2][7]
Lipson's academic work focused on several areas:
- Superfluids: He published research on the properties of superfluids, including a paper demonstrating evidence for facets at a quantum-fluid/solid interface (not just classical material).[8]
- Surface melting and ice studies: Lipson conducted research on the physical properties of surfaces, including the surface melting of ice. He investigated the "electrofreezing effect" and the nucleation of ice crystals during free growth experiments.
- Granular materials: His work also addressed the dynamics of granular materials, such as his 1994 publication on the "rotationally induced segregation of granular materials," which appeared in Physical Review Letters.[citation needed]
- Interferometric astronomy: A co-author of the textbook An Introduction to Optical Stellar Interferometry, Lipson's research interests extended to applying optical techniques in astronomy. He also co-authored a book on the topic with Antoine Labeyrie and Peter Nisenson.[citation needed]
- Imaging and spectroscopy: Lipson has patented a "method for simultaneously measuring the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength of all the pixels of a two dimensional scene". Other work involved measuring the modulation transfer function of a lens and developing a monolithic piezoelectric mirror for wavefront correction.[citation needed]
- Surface plasmon resonance: He has published several papers related to surface plasmon resonance, comparing the sensitivities of phase and intensity detection methods.[citation needed]
Other publications
- Lipson, Stephen G.; Lipson, Henry S.; Tannhauser, D. S. (7 March 2013). Optik (in German). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-642-59053-5.
- Estermann, Immanuel; Lipson, Stephen G. (1972). Physics in Israel and Its Industrial Applications. National Council for Research and Development.
Selected patents
- Method for simultaneously measuring the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength of all the pixels of a two dimensional scene.[9]
- Monolithic piezoelectric wavefront phase modulator.[10]
- Determination of thin film topography.[11]
- System and method for producing a light beam with spatially varying polarization.[12]
- Plasmon resonance phase imaging.[13]
- Surface plasmon resonance sensor.[14]
- Optical storage device using piezoelectric read-out[15]