Eric Szarmes received his Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia in 1985, and his PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1992, where he did his doctoral research in high-resolution free-electron laser spectroscopy under Professor John Madey. He was a postdoctoral research scientist at the Duke Free-Electron Laser Laboratory from 1992 to 1998, where he made fundamental contributions to the development of the phase-locked and chirped-pulse free-electron laser. In 1998 he joined the faculty of the University of Hawaii where he is currently an associate professor of physics. His current research interests include the theory and design of novel optical resonators for high-resolution free-electron laser spectroscopy, X-ray generation and high-field physics. His greatest passion is teaching.