physics

Richard C. Powell

Richard C. Powell is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard C. Powell rather than just read about it. In short: Richard C. Powell (born 1939) is an American professor emeritus of physics and vice president emeritus of the University of Arizona (UA), whose career focused on research in materials science and laser optics.

Key takeaways

Richard C. Powell belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard C. Powell to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard C. Powell from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard C. Powell (born 1939) is an American professor emeritus of physics and vice president emeritus of the University of Arizona (UA), whose career focused on research in materials science and laser optics. He served as president of the Optical Society of America in 2000.

Early life and education Powell was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was reared in Ottumwa, Iowa. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962, and took his commission in the U.S. Air Force because the Air Force offered immediate support for study in a Ph.D. program. At Arizona State University he earned an M.S. and also completed a Ph.D. in physics there in 1967.

Career Powell completed his military service at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories and then worked as a civilian at Sandia National Laboratory. He taught at California Institute of Technology, Oklahoma State University and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Fisica. Powell joined the faculty of the University of Arizona as a professor of optical sciences and of materials science and director of the Optical Sciences Center. He later served as vice president for research and graduate studies, and upon retirement, became professor emeritus of optical sciences. Following his retirement, he became a senior fellow at the UA Science and Tech Park, expanding "their Solar Zone to test, evaluate and demonstrate solar technologies."

Publications Powell has written textbooks and published 260 research articles on laser spectroscopy and solid state laser development. His textbooks are Physics of Solid-State Laser Materials, Symmetry, Group Theory, and the Physical Properties of Crystals, and with Baldassare Di Bartolo, Crystal Symmetry, Lattice Vibrations and Optical Spectroscopy of Solids.

Awards and honors The University of Arizona honored Powell as an innovator with a 2005 Technology Innovation Award for "moving UA technology out of the laboratory and into the marketplace." Powell is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society, and also an elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America. In 1999, he was also elected to the Russian Academy of Engineer Science.

See also Optical Society of America#Past Presidents of the OSA

References

External links JOSA Articles Published by Modern OSA Presidents, Journal of the Optical Society of America Interview - Richard Powell, Part 1 (video, 30:00) Interview - Richard Powell, Part 2 (video, 30:00) Interview - Richard Powell, Part 3 (video, 14:12)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard C. Powell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard C. Powell claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard C. Powell before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard C. Powell ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard C. Powell

In research: Richard C. Powell appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard C. Powell in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard C. Powell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 births, 21st-century American physicists, Arizona State University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard C. Powell outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Richard C. Powell in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard C. Powell means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard C. Powell out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard C. Powell in simple terms?

Why does Richard C. Powell matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard C. Powell?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard C. Powell.