Isaac David Abella is Professor of Physics at The University of Chicago. He specializes in laser

Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 physics, quantum optics, and spectroscopy

Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...

. Isaac is the cousin of Irving Abella

Irving Abella

Irving Martin Abella, is a Canadian writer, historian and academic. He specializes in the History of the Jews in Canada and the Canadian labour movement...

.

Abella received his Bachelor of Arts degree (1957) from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, Master of Arts (1959) degree, and Ph.D. (1963) in Physics from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in New York. He studied under Charles H. Townes  and was involved in the early research work of laser development. Notably, Abella's thesis under Townes was among the earliest work on two-photon absorption

Two-photon absorption

Two-photon absorption is the simultaneous absorption of two photons of identical or different frequencies in order to excite a molecule from one state to a higher energy electronic state. The energy difference between the involved lower and upper states of the molecule is equal to the sum of the...

.

He was married to the late MaryAnn Abella, Professor of Art, Chicago State University. He has a son Benjamin, and daughter, Sarah.

Articles

• I. D. Abella and C. H. Townes. "Mode Characteristics and Coherence in Optical Ruby Masers", Nature 192, 957(1961)
• N.A. Kurnit, I.D. Abella, S.R. Hartmann, "Observation of a Photon Echo", Physical Review Letters,13, 567 - 568 (1964)
• I. D. Abella, N. A. Kurnit, and S. R. Hartmann, "Photon Echoes", Phys. Rev. 141, 391 - 406 (1966)
• A. E, Siegman, Lasers, University Science Press, Sausalito CA, 1986
• Charles Townes. "How the Laser Happened", Oxford University Press, 1999
• J. Hecht, "The Race to Make the First Laser", Oxford University Press, 2005