UNDERGRADUATE / GRADUATE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
The Chuck Hardesty Scholarship in Optical Design
Chuck Hardesty is grateful to his advisor , Robert Shannon , and the faculty , staff and classmates at the Optical Science Center in the early 1970s . The education and mentorship he received from everyone there prepared him for a successful career in optical design .
His work included five years at ITEK , four years at SORL , 22 years as a consultant for many diverse companies , and 13 years at Ball Aerospace . While most of those years were spent in optical design , he also devoted a significant amount of time in optical shops and labs building and testing components and systems . The understanding gained by this hands-on experience helped him create designs , particularly those with aspheres , that could be readily manufactured . He is known for designing many instruments that have been launched into space .
Chuck received his Master ’ s degree from the Optical Science Center and enjoyed bending lots of rays over the years when he wasn ’ t having fun in the mountains or at the oceans .
KIRA PURVIN
I am currently working to develop and implement a computer generated hologram which aids in wavefront phase retrieval as part of an adaptive optics system to image through aberrated media .
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