Bio
Dr. Randall Knize is a Professor of Physics and Director of the Laser and Optics Research Center at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He teaches both general and advanced physics courses and mentors cadets on research projects.
Education
Ph.D. Physics, Harvard University 1981
M.A. Physics, Harvard University, 1976
M.S. Physics, University of Chicago, 1975
B.A. Physics, University of Chicago, 1975
Professional Experience
Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, USAF Academy, Colorado Springs (2000-Present)
Director, Laser and Optics Research Center, USAF Academy, Colorado Springs (1996-Present)
Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, USAF Academy, Colorado Springs (1996- 2000)
Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (1988-1996)
Research Physicist, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University (1980-1988)
Honors & Awards
Air Force Outstanding Scientist, Senior Civilian Award 2012
Fellow of the Optical Society of America 2011
Fellow of the American Physical Society 2010
John L. McLucas Basic Research Award Honorable Mention, 2008, US Air Force
John L. McLucas Basic Research Award Honorable Mention, 2006, US Air Force
Frank J. Seiler Research Award for Research Excellence in Basic Science, 2005, USAF Academy
Fulbright Scholar, Moscow, Russia July 2002-January 2003
National Science Foundation Fellow, 1975-78
Research and Scholarly Interests
Atomic Physics
Laser Physics
Solid State Physics
Nuclear Physics
Publications
“Measurement of ExcitedState ChargeExchange Cross Sections”, R.J. Knize, S.R. Lundeen and F.M. Pipkin, Physical Review Letters 49, no. 5, 315318, August 2, 1982.
“Optical Pumping and Spin Exchange in Gas Cells”, R.J. Knize, Z. Wu and W. Happer, Advances in Atomic and Molecular Physics Vol. 24, 223267 (1988).
“Measurement of the Potassium 4P Excited State Diffusion Coefficient in Xenon Gas using Degenerate Four Wave Mixing”, D.S. Glassner and R.J. Knize, Physical Review Letters 74, no. 12, 2212-2215, March 20 1995.
“Phase Coexistence in Gallium Nanoparticles Controlled by Electron Excitation”, S. Pochon, K.F. MacDonald, R.J. Knize and N.I. Zheludev, Physical Review Letters 92, no. 14, 145702/1-4, April 9, 2004.
“Optical guiding of atoms through a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber”, T. Takekoshi and R. J. Knize, Physical Review Letters 98, Issue 21, Art. No. 210404, May 25, 2007.
“Precision lifetime measurement of the cesium 6P3/2 level using ultrafast pump-probe laser pulses”, B. M. Patterson, J. F. Sell, T. Ehrenreich, M. A. Gearba, G. A. Brooke, J. Scoville, and R. J. Knize, Physical Review A 91, 012506, Published 15 January 2015
“Measurements of cesium mixing and quenching cross sections in methane gas: understanding sources of heating in cesium vapor lasers”, M. Alina Gearba, Philip H. Rich, Lucy A. Zimmerman, Matthew D. Rotondaro, Boris V. Zhdanov, Randall J. Knize, and Jerry F. Sell, Optics Express Vol. 27, Issue 7, pp. 9676-9683, (2019)
“Search for direct detection of thorium-229m nuclear VUV photons”, R J Knize, M D Lindsay, J M Bowen and M D Rotondaro, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys., 53 015002, 2020.