Robert R. Alfano, Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at The City College of the City University of New York, has contributed significantly to the field of ultrafast laser science and is a pioneer in the application of light and development of new tunable Cr3+/Cr4+ lasers, advance of laser spectroscopic and optical imaging techniques for condensed matter and biomedical photonics, and study of ultrafast optical pulse propagation and imaging in scattering media. He is a fellow of APS, OSA, IEEE, NY Academy of Science, and Alfred P. Sloan fellow. He received his PhD. in physics from New York University and spent 8 years at GTE Labs (now Verizon) before joining CCNY. Prof. Alfano received the OSA Charles Hard Townes Award in 2008, the SPIE Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award in 2012, and the APS Arthur L Schawlow Prize in Laser Science in 2013.