Girish Agarwal

Girish S. Agarwal, Fellow of the Royal Society UK, (born 7 July 1946) is a theoretical physicist. He is currently at the Texas A & M University with affiliations to the Departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, and the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering. He is a recognized leader in the field of quantum optics and also has made major contributions to the fields of nonlinear optics, nanophotonics and plasmonics. In 2013 he published the textbook "Quantum Optics", covering a wide range of recent developments in the field, which has been well received by the community.

Life

Born in Bareilly, India, Agarwal studied physics at the Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India, (BSc in 1964) This book on light–matter interaction and spontaneous decay has since been a standard reference for quantum optics researchers worldwide.

After a few years at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Institute of Science, Mumbai, India, he was appointed in 1977 full professor at the University of Hyderabad, India, where he had the major responsibility to set up the School of Physics. the Max-Born Award of the Optical Society of America, USA (1988), the Einstein Medal of the Optical and Quantum Electronics Society, USA (1994), The World Academy of Sciences Prize in Physics (1994), the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in Physical Sciences by the Government of India (1982) the Honoris causa of the University of Liege, Belgium (2007), and of the University of Hyderabad, India (2011), the Charles Hard Townes Award (2022), an Elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (1997), an Elected Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi (1985), an Elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America (1986), an Elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1981), and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (1981). He was invited to the Sir JC Bose Chair at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India, and the JRD Tata Chair at The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. In 2012 he was recognized by the Oklahoma State University by the "Eminent Faculty Award".