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Oswald Leroy
Belgian mathematician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Oswald Jozef Leroy (16 May 1936 – 7 September 2022) was a Belgian mathematician known for his contributions to theoretical acousto-optics.
![]() | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (May 2014) |
Oswald Jozef Leroy | |
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Born | (1936-05-16)16 May 1936 |
Died | 7 September 2022(2022-09-07) (aged 86) |
Citizenship | Belgium |
Alma mater | Ghent University |
Known for | acousto-optics theorist |
Awards | honorary doctorate from the University of Gdansk, ‘Médaille étrangère’ of the French Acoustical Society |
Scientific career | |
Fields | mathematician |
Institutions | Ghent University, KU Leuven |
Doctoral advisor | Robert A. Mertens |
Leroy's biggest achievement was a theoretical study of the interaction of light with two adjacent ultrasonic beams under different conditions in terms of beam shape, frequency content and intensity.[1][2][3][4] Understanding of this phenomenon was very important in the 1970s when new acousto-optic devices were developed (mainly due to novel developments in laser technology) that utilized adjacent ultrasonic beams. Such devices were being used in optical modulators,[5] optical scanners,[6] information processing[7][8][9] , optical filtering[10] and frequency-spectrum analysis.[11][12][13] Before his contribution only the interaction of light with one ultrasonic beam was understood.[citation needed] Since then, acousto-optic devices have been used in telecommunication and military applications.[citation needed]