Welcome to the IUSL


The Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (IUSL) of the City University of New York (CUNY) is a world-renowned multidisciplinary research laboratory devoted to promoting research and education in photonic and laser technologies for scientific, engineering, medical, and industrial applications.

Established in 1982 by Professor R. R. Alfano, the IUSL has grown to encompass ten laboratories located in the Marshak Science Building of The City College of New York. Research and support staff now total 47. Among the major technical accomplishments are inventions of chromium-based forsterite, cunyite, and emerald lasers; fluorescence and excitation biopsy techniques for medical diagnostics; and optical biomedical imaging techniques. The IUSL researchers have published over 700 papers and have thus far been awarded more than 100 U.S. patents. The IUSL receives research grants from various federal and state agencies and industrial concerns. The research funding garnered by the IUSL has been over $3 M per year for the last 5 years. To date, 51 students, including 7 female and 5 from underrepresented minority groups, have received their Ph.D. degrees conducting research at the IUSL laboratories.