BRIC draws 'Renaissance' researcher
Internationally renowned physicist to relocate labs to Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative
Dr. Marlan O. Scully, a member of the National Academy of Sciences who is best known for his work in theoretical quantum optics, has been named Distinguished Research Academician of Science and Engineering at Baylor University.
Scully, who will relocate his research labs to the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC), has made outstanding research accomplishments over his long career in the areas of quantum optics, laser physics and bioengineering. He wrote definitive textbooks on quantum optics and laser physics and has published his research in more than 700 articles in professional journals such as Nature and Science. He has also written for popular venues like Scientific American and Physics Today.
"Dr. Scully is truly a Renaissance researcher," said Dr. Truell Hyde, MS '80, PhD '88, Baylor University vice provost for research. "His knowledge and research interests span many fields, and we look forward to his continued research contributions here at Baylor."
In addition to his membership in the National Academy of Sciences, Scully is a member of the Academia Europa, the Max Planck Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among others. He has received numerous awards and honors including the Elliot Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Schawlow Prize of the American Physical Society, the Townes Medal of the American Optical Society, the Herbert Walther Award of the German Physical Society, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was recently appointed Loeb Lecturer at Harvard University.
"I don't have to beat around the bush at a place like Baylor," Scully told The Baylor Lariat. "Being a Christian and being a scientist is part and parcel of the same things. Truth is what God is all about, and truth is what we are seeking. The BRIC facility is very exciting as it brings the opportunity to work with people here at Baylor and across the state and around the world."
Scully did his undergraduate work at the University of Wyoming and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his master's and doctoral work at Yale University. He is the Herschel Burgess Chair and Distinguished Professor in the department of physics at Texas A&M and is the director of its Center for Theoretical Physics. For the past decade, he has held a professorial position at Princeton.
The BRIC is the first, and cornerstone, facility of a 21-acre discovery complex that will evolve into the Central Texas Technology and Research Park as tenants populate the park over the next few decades. It will provide researchers, organizations and private companies with 300,000 square feet of physical space for labs, research centers, industry collaborative space, workforce training and symposia meeting venues for up to 300 attendees. Additionally, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) space and an Innovative Business Accelerator are planned.