Frederick Lightstone was born in the heart of California. His mother, Ivy Nontox, was a textile chemist working on the development of environmentally friendly textile dyes and dyeing techniques. One of her achievements is the so-called auto-tie-dye. This is an industrial process for the large-scale production of batik fabrics. His father Edward “Stone Ed” Lightstone is a botanist and has developed special types of hemp that can be used to produce dyes that are particularly suitable for the auto-tie-dye process.
Frederick's keen interest in scientific topics and their practical application showed very early on that he would one day work in the field of measurement techniques. As a child, he had the idea of using solar cells from old pocket calculators to set a mobile with wooden pigeons in motion. The only problem was that solar-powered calculators had not yet been invented. An important incentive for the young Frederick to take the solution of practical problems into his own hands.
After his high school teachers refused to allow him to experiment with laser light to create psychedelic colors without any other aids, he knew he had to find a suitable environment. Studying physics at a renowned university was exactly the right choice. Frederick himself no longer knows exactly which university it was.
Today, he works for an industrial company, and he also holds a chair in physics at the University of Theraheartsfield. Whether in the lab or in the lecture hall - a relaxed, pleasant working atmosphere is always important to him. For example, he introduced “Tie-Dye-Friday” in one laboratory. Tye-dye-style cleanroom clothing were produced especially for this. Unfortunately, he was unable to implement this for wafer production, as it was sometimes difficult to tell employees and products apart. On the other hand, his idea of using the waste heat from old laser systems to heat an employee bathtub was met with great enthusiasm. In a project in Scotland, he was able to cleverly combine the pleasant with the useful with the “Single Malt Laser”.
Frederick is continuously working on his autobiography, which he plans to publish under the title “Frequency bands and colored ribbons - a live in Photonics and tye-dyes”. As he still has a lot planned, the work on this book will take some time. Which means we can look forward to many more guest appearances at Photonics Friday!