Wes Sandle

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Wes Sandle
Born
Weston James Sandle

(1935-03-19)19 March 1935
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died (aged 84)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago
Thesis19F nuclear magnetic resonance in the canted antiferromagnet KMnF3 (1968)

Weston James Sandle ONZM FRSNZ (19 March 1935 – 19 February 2020) was a New Zealand physicist who specialised in the study of lasers. He was a professor at the University of Otago.

Biography[edit]

Born on 19 March 1935,[1][2] Sandle studied at Canterbury University College, graduating Master of Science with first-class honours in 1958.[3] He went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Master of Arts degree, and then a PhD in physics in 1968.[4][5] The title of his doctoral thesis was 19F nuclear magnetic resonance in the canted antiferromagnet KMnF3.[5]

Appointed to the faculty of the University of Otago in 1963, Sandle rose to become a full professor in 1986.[4] He served as head of the Department of Physics at Otago for a time, and retired in 2001, when he was accorded the title of professor emeritus.[4][6] Much of Sandle's research was concerned with laser theory and the application of lasers, including laser stability, Raman lasers, and laser cavity resonators. He was also interested in optical switches, optical pumping, optical bistability and optical chaos.[7]

In 1998, Sandle was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and he was also a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Physics.[8] In the 2004 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science.[9]

Sandle was predeceased by his wife, Pat, to whom he was married for 56 years, in 2019.[10] He died in Dunedin on 19 February 2020.[1][11]

Selected works[edit]

  • Sandle, Wes; Manson, Peter; Warrington, Don (1998). Chaotic polarization behavior in a Raman laser. LEOS'98, 11th Annual Meeting, IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society. Vol. 1. IEEE. pp. 407–408.
  • Dodd, J. N.; Sandle, W. J.; Zissermann, D. (1967). "Study of resonance fluorescence in cadmium: modulation effects and lifetime measurements". Proceedings of the Physical Society. 92 (2): 497. doi:10.1088/0370-1328/92/2/327.
  • Boshier, M. G.; Sandle, W. J. (1982). "Self-focussing in a vapour of two-state atoms". Optics Communications. 42 (5): 371–376. doi:10.1016/0030-4018(82)90251-6.
  • Sandle, W. J.; Gallagher, Alan (1981). "Optical bistability by an atomic vapor in a focusing Fabry-Perot cavity". Physical Review A. 24 (4): 2017. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.24.2017.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Wes Sandle death notice". Dominion Post. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Death search: registration number 2020/5806". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Sa–Sk". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Emeritus Professors" (PDF). University of Otago Calendar for 2014. Dunedin: University of Otago. 2014. p. 141. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b 19F nuclear magnetic resonance in the canted antiferromagnet KMnF3 (PhD). University of California. 1968.
  6. ^ "Vice-chancellor's review" (PDF). University of Otago. 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. ^ "W. Sandle". IEEE Xplore. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  8. ^ "List of all Fellows with surnames S–U". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  9. ^ "New Year honours list 2004". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  10. ^ "In memory of Patricia Ann Sandle". Tributes Online. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Pioneer put intellectual energies into physics". Otago Daily Times Online News. 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.