2026 Mansoor Sheik-Bahae Best Dissertation Award Co-Winner – Dr. Jackson Kock

Departmental News

Jackson Kock

Posted: May 18, 2026

Jackson Kock received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls in 2014. As an undergraduate, he conducted research on optically trapped aerosols to study how changing trapping power influences a droplet’s position and size. He pursued his graduate studies under the guidance of the late Distinguished Professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae and Dr. Alexander Albrecht in the Optical Science and Engineering (OSE) program at the University of New Mexico (UNM). In 2022, he received his Master of Science degree in Optical Science and Engineering with a concentration in Optical Science.

His doctoral research advanced the development of optical refrigeration using ytterbium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Yb:YLF) crystals. Building upon a foundation established by prior researchers at UNM, his work contributed both experimental and theoretical advances that led to the record cooling of a payload to 124 K. His key contributions include investigating the effects of absorption saturation, optimizing and developing a robust simulation of the astigmatic Herriott cell used to pump the crystal, and developing a novel fluorescence-based thermometry technique.

In the summer of 2025, he successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Toward Yb:YLF-Based Optical Cryocooler: Monolithic Architecture, Pump Management, Fluorescence Thermometry, and Saturation Effects.” Dr. Kock graduated with distinction from the UNM OSE program, earning his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Optical Science and Engineering with a concentration in Optical Science. During his academic tenure at UNM, he published three first-author papers in peer-reviewed journals and was a regular participant at SPIE Photonics West, where he delivered invited presentations. He is currently a National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral fellow at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His pursuit of higher education and research has been made possible by the unwavering support of his loving wife and family.

 

About Distinguished Professor, Mansoor Sheik-Bahae

Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, Optica Fellow and 2012 recipient of the R. W. Wood Prize, passed away on 10 July 2023. He was known for his work in laser cooling in solids, ultrafast nonlinear optics, and nonlinear optics. Sheik-Bahae's work in the Z-scan technique was seminal and led to a standard tool in most nonlinear optics laboratories around the world. Mansoor Sheik-Bahae was a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of New Mexico at the time of his passing.

Sheik-Bahae was generous with his time and expertise and contributed both to the UNM community and to scientific organizations. He served as the General Chair of the Optical Science and Engineering Program (OSE), University of New Mexico from 2003-2009, Director of Consortium for Laser Cooling in Solids (CLCS) from 2004-2022, and as a Member of the Board of Directors of UNM's Science and Technology Transfer Corporation STC. Sheik-Bahae was a Topical Editor for the Journal of Optical Society of America (B) from 2010-2013 and a member of several Optica committees, such as the New Focus Student Award (1998, 1999), Book Publishing and Web Committees (2003), Holonyak Award Committee (2004-2006). He was also active with CLEO (1999-2004) and SPIE Photonics West (2007-2012).