To: The BNC Community I am pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Vlad Shalaev as Scientific Director for Nanophotonics in the Birck Nanotechnology Center. This appointment is in recognition of his role as the inspirational leader of our nanophotonics community. Prof. Shalaev is the Robert and Anne Burnett Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Max Born Award of the Optical Society of America, the 2010 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics, the 2009 Herbert Newby McCoy Award for the top research contribution from Purdue, and the 2006 Top 50 Nano Technology Award. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Physical Society (APS), the Optical Society of America (OSA), the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). Over the past ten years, Vlad Shalaev has created one of the most highly acclaimed nanophotonics programs in the world, and brought enormous recognition to Purdue. Please join me in thanking him for his contributions and congratulating him on this appointment. -- Jim