Introduction

A Symposium honoring Joseph H. Eberly on his 65th birthday was organized in Rochester on October 20 and 21, 2000. Joe, of course, is also Editor of Optics Express, and the concept of electronic publishing occupied him for many years before Optics Express came into being. The idea of publishing a special issue in Optics Express on the occasion was inevitable. Everyone invited to the Symposium was invited to submit a paper. This Focus Issue is the result.

Although Joe is Editor of the journal, through a conspiracy between OSA, Optics Express staff and the organizers of the Symposium he was among the last to know about the special issue, and OSA preemptively overruled his objections when he found out. The usual peer review and editorial procedures were followed, but due to the unusual nature of this issue, a few papers contain material different from what is customary on the pages of this journal. A reader who finds this objectionable should blame it not on Joe, but on me.

Joe has been part of a vast body of good physics, and those of us who have been fortunate to have a long-term association with him know that the way we think about physics and doing physics has permanently changed. The Symposium showcased the enormous depth and breadth of Joe’s influence in optical physics. If the present Focus Issue successfully conveys just a few snapshots, it has served its purpose.

Juha Javanainen

University of Connecticut