Govind P. Agrawal received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Lucknow in 1969 with honours. He was awarded a gold medal for achieving the top position in the university. Govind joined the Indian Institute of Technology at New Delhi in 1969 and received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in 1971 and 1974, respectively. After holding positions at the Ecole Polytechnique (France), the City University of New York, and the Laser company, Quantel, Orsay, France, Dr. Agrawal joined in 1981 the technical staff of the world-famous AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J., USA, where he worked on problems related to the development of semiconductor lasers and fiber-optic communication systems. He joined in 1989 the faculty of the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester where he is a Professor of Optics. His research interests focus on quantum electronics, nonlinear optics, and optical communications. In particular, he has contributed significantly to the fields of semiconductor lasers, nonlinear fiber optics, and optical communications. He is an author or co-author of more than 250 research papers, several book chapters and review articles, and four books. He has also edited the books ""Contemporary Nonlinear Optics"" (Academic Press, 1992) and ""Semiconductor Lasers: Past, Present and Future"" (AIP Press, 1995). The books authored by Dr. Agrawal have influenced an entire generation of scientists. Several of them have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Greek, and Russian.
This third edition of what is arguably the most read book on applications of nonlinear fiber optics was published last year, twelve years after the work's second edition. Both the book itself (in its earlier editions) and the author are well-known and respected, to the point where a review seems almost unnecessary. Still, much has happened in the field in the meantime, and the new edition includes extensive updates to several chapters, on topics ranging from photonic-crystal fibers to fiber amplifiers to quantum communications. The chapter references are extensive and very much up to date. The ebook edition reviewed included several color charts and figures and the expected heavy-duty mathematics of nonlinear optics. An index of terms and a list of acronyms help readers find their way in the book. Each chapter includes several exercises, making it particularly useful as a textbook for advanced undergraduates or graduate students. Of course, the book is equally helpful as a reference for professionals in the field, especially if accompanied by the other Agrawal classic, Nonlinear Fiber Optics, the Sixth Edition of which was released in 2019. --Optics and Photonics News