physics

Thomas M. Baer

Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Baer (born Baraboo, Wisconsin) is the executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center, a consulting professor in the applied physics department and an associate member of the Stem Cell Institute at Stanford University. His current scientific research is focused on developing imaging and biochemical analysis technology for exploring the molecular basis of human developmental biology and neuroscien…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thomas Baer (born Baraboo, Wisconsin) is the executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center, a consulting professor in the applied physics department and an associate member of the Stem Cell Institute at Stanford University. His current scientific research is focused on developing imaging and biochemical analysis technology for exploring the molecular basis of human developmental biology and neuroscience. He received a B.A. in physics from Lawrence University in 1974, and a Ph.D. in atomic physics from the University of Chicago in 1979, where he studied with Professors Ugo Fano and Isaac Abella. After receiving his Ph.D. he worked with Nobel Laureate John L. Hall at JILA, University of Colorado, performing research on frequency stabilized lasers and ultra-high precision molecular spectroscopy.

Career Throughout his career Baer has been extensively involved with startup companies in Silicon Valley. In 2008 Baer co-founded Auxogyn, Inc., a diagnostic company devoted to advancing women’s health by developing technology for assisted reproduction and in vitro fertilization. Time Magazine selected the technology which formed the basis of Auxogyn products as one of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2010. From 1996 to 2005 Baer was the CEO, chairman, and founder of Arcturus Bioscience, a biotechnology company located in Mountain View, CA, which he established in 1996. Arcturus Bioscience pioneered the area of Microgenomics by developing and manufacturing laser microdissection instrumentation and integrated bioreagent systems. Arcturus developed products that allowed precise genetic analysis of microscopic tissue samples and were integrated into a new generation of cancer diagnostic tests. From 1992 to 1995 Baer was vice-president of research at Biometric Imaging, a company that developed laser scanning instruments for AIDS diagnosis, bone marrow transplants, and blood supply quality control. From 1981 to 1992 Baer was at Spectra-Physics, Inc. where he held positions of vice-president of research and senior research fellow. While at Spectra-Physics he developed technology that formed the basis for major Spectra-Physics product lines including optical pulse compressors, diode-pumped solid-state lasers, and modelocked Ti:Sapphire lasers. Products based on technology resulting from his research have generated over a billion dollars in commercial sales revenue.

Honours In 1994 he received the Lucia R. Briggs distinguished Alumni Award from Lawrence University and in 2000 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year for Emerging Companies by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. He has been elected to the status of Fellow in two international scientific societies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Optical Society of America (OSA), and served as the president of OSA in 2009. In 2017 Baer was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (CorrFRSE). He is a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Baer received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2012 In 2012, he was also awarded the Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award by the Optical Society (OSA).

Patents held Baer holds more than 85 patents and his commercial products have received many industry awards for design innovation

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas M. Baer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer

In research: Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer 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: Thomas M. Baer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American physicists, American spectroscopists, Biometrics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas M. Baer in simple terms?

Why does Thomas M. Baer 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 Thomas M. Baer?

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 Thomas M. Baer.