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Biography
John Fredrich Asmus (born 1937) has been a research physicist at the Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Science at the University of California, San Diego since 1974.
He is widely published, with 125 articles published in professional journals and 25 patents to his name. Having earned his PhD from the California Institute of Technology, he initially applied his knowledge of high-energy excimer lasers in private sector organizations such as General Atomic, where he contributed to the ORION nuclear spaceship program.
Asmus then pioneered the use of holography, lasers, ultrasonic imaging, digital image processing, and nuclear magnetic resonance in art conservation. His application of complex scientific devices to art has enabled Asmus to work on many of the world most famous cultural objects, including the Mona Lisa. In 1990, he received a Rolex Enterprise Award for his conservation work on the Qin dynasty terracotta warriors.