MERCED, CA — Professor Roland Winston of The University of California, Merced, has authored a new textbook, “Nonimaging Optics.” The text encompasses the progress made in the field of nonimaging optics over the last ten years.
Winston is considered a pioneer in nonimaging optics, a science concerned with collecting, concentrating, transporting and distributing light energy in applications such as solar energy, signal detection, illumination optics, and measurement and testing. He joined UC Merced as a founding faculty member in 2003.
“Roland Winston's continuing accomplishments in his many areas of expertise are a benefit to the scientific community and to UC Merced,” said Dean of Engineering Jeff Wright. “Those in his field already recognize his new book for its authoritativeness and quality. We value Professor Winston for his outstanding research and his many contributions to the building of UC Merced, and congratulate him on this most recent success.”
Winston is jointly appointed in the schools of Natural Science and Engineering at UC Merced. This text comes from the point of view of an engineer, according to Govind Agrawal of the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. “Roland Winston is 'the expert' in this field,” Agrawal said. “Nonimaging optics is very popular in industry and the book should do quite well.”
Winston is the first author of “Nonimaging Optics.” Other authors of the text are Juan Minano and Pablo Benitez of the Technical University of Madrid. Narkis Shatz and John C. Bortz of Science Applications International Corporation also contributed.
“Dramatic growth in the field of nonimaging optics created the need for this text,” says Winston, who has been part of the study of nonimaging optics since its inception in the 1970s. “As authors and editors, we've concentrated our time and efforts on making sure this text is up-to-date and useful for students and workers who need this information.”
The book's publisher, Elsevier (el-se-VEER), describes it as “the only authoritative reference on nonimaging optics, from the leader in the field.” Chapters in the book cover various theories, design methods, manufacturing techniques and applications relating to devices that use nonimaging optics. Elsevier expects it to be read by advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as by workers in illumination optics and signal detection, solar energy conversion, and measurement and testing. The book is 512 pages long. It costs $89.95 and is available through its publisher at www.elsevier.comor through online retailers such as amazon.com.
Winston's accomplishments in nonimaging optics include development of the technology behind a popular solar collector, the Winston Series CPC Collector, manufactured by Solargenix, Inc. BuildingGreen magazine recently honored The Winston Series CPC Collector as one of the Top 10 Green Building Products of 2004.
