Prof. Clemens Kaminski was elected as a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA) in recognition of "pioneering work in the development of optical methods for quantifying the kinetics of reactions in chemical and biological systems".
Prof. Kaminski started his career developing optical imaging techniques for the study of thermochemistry in turbulent combustion systems and he developed a method that permits researchers to 'film' the progress of fast exothermic reactions in real time. The method is now routinely used by researchers for the study of flow turbulence and its effect on combustion efficiency and pollutant formation and has become a routine tool in research for next generation clean combustion concepts.
Over recent years his group has changed research direction and begun to adapt such methods for the study of chemical reactions on the microscale. Together with his wife Gabi Kaminski, a neurobiologist, he now leads a team of researchers focusing on the development and application of modern imaging techniques in the study of molecular mechanisms of diseases. A major effort is directed at understanding the processes that cause proteins to misfold and aggregate and that lie at the root of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
He says: "I am grateful and privileged to work with such an exceptionally talented and motivated research team - it's their hard work and achievement that is being recognised. It's an exciting time for photonics research and we are only beginning to unleash its potential to study chemical phenomena at the molecular scale".
The Optical Society of America is the world's leading professional organisation in optics and photonics, with more than 18000 members world wide. Every year the OSA proposes ca 70 Members world wide who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics to be elected into the class of Fellow.