Light People: Prof. Eric Mazur speaks about ultrafast optics and education

Abstract

Editorial Prof. Eric Mazur is a great influencer over and beyond the optics community. As a physicist, he is a pioneer of ultrafast optics and was one of the inventors of colliding-pulse mode-locked laser. As an educator, he not only gave talks to thousands, but also revolutionized teaching with his globally renowned methodology “Peer Instruction”. As a leader and entrepreneur, he co-founded several companies and was President of Optica (formerly the Optical Society) and currently is the Chair of the Optica Foundation. Here, Light: Science & Applications talked with Prof. Eric Mazur about his opinions on research, education and industry. The full interview video can be found in the Supplementary File.