WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to name the 2016 recipients of its prestigious awards and medals. The winners include: Gérard Mourou, Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus Quinn Prize; Bishnu Pal, Esther Hoffman Beller Medal; Xiang Zhang, Max Born Award; G. Michael Morris, Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award; Robert Alfano, Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award; Demetri Psaltis, Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize; Valery V. Tuchin, Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award; Chennupati Jagadish, Nick Holonyak Jr. Award; Martin Aufmuth, Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award; Jan P. Allebach, Edwin Land Medal; Sang-Sam Choi, Sang Soo Lee Award; Francis T. S. Yu, Emmett N. Leith Medal; Thomas Elsaesser, Ellis R. Lippincott Award; Jennifer Dionne, Adolph Lomb Medal; Brooks Pate, William F. Meggers Award; Francisco Duarte, David Richardson Medal; Dennis Levi, Edgar D. Tillyer Award; Robert W. Boyd, Charles H. Townes Award; Kishan Dholakia, R.W. Wood Prize. These award winners join an esteemed group of past recipients recognized by OSA for their outstanding contributions and leadership in the field of optics and photonics. Award ceremonies will be held throughout the year.
“Our Society presents a number of awards annually to recognize individual excellence in the field of optics and photonics,” said Elizabeth Rogan, CEO, The Optical Society. “The recipients of this year’s awards and medals are paving the way to seminal discoveries which contribute to a greater level of understanding of the optical sciences. OSA is incredibly pleased to acknowledge their dedication and celebrates their success.”
The Optical Society’s President, Alan Willner, added: “This year’s distinguished recipients have written books that have contributed to the further understanding of optics and photonics, are the named inventors of patents that will aid in improving the living conditions of millions, and were lead investigators on pivotal research. Moreover, many of this year’s recipients have taken on important leadership roles within The Optical Society, and through such roles they have exemplified a dedication to our field and to their colleagues.”
The OSA award committee reviews nominations for each award, including curriculum vitae, four letters of recommendations and a statement of career accomplishment related to the award criteria, and presents its recommendations to the OSA Board of Directors. The Board has approved the following winners for 2016:
Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus Quinn Prize
Recipient: Gérard
Mourou, École Polytechnique, France
The Frederic
Ives Medal is the highest award conferred by OSA for overall distinction
in optics. This award is being presented to Gérard Mourou for numerous
pioneering contributions to the development of ultrafast and ultrahigh
intensity laser science and for outstanding leadership of the
international and commercial communities impacted by these technologies.
Esther Hoffman Beller Medal
Recipient: Bishnu Pal, Mahindra
École Centrale, India
The Esther Hoffman Beller Medal
recognizes outstanding contributions to optical science and engineering
education. This year Bishnu Pal is being recognized for over thirty-five
years of guided wave photonics education, including the development of
graduate and continuing education teaching programs and laboratories in
optoelectronics and optical communications at IIT-Delhi, and inspiring a
generation of leading academic and industrial scientists.
Max Born Award
Recipient: Xiang Zhang, University
of California Berkeley, USA
The Max Born Award recognizes
contributions to physical optics. Xiang Zhang is being recognized for
the experimental realization of major theoretical predictions in the
field of metamaterials and graphene optics.
Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award
Recipient: G.
Michael Morris, RPC Photonics Inc., USA
The Stephen D.
Fantone Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals who, over an
extended period of time, have served the Optical Society in an
outstanding way, especially through volunteer participation in its
management, operation or planning in such ways as editorship of a
periodical, organization of meetings, or other service to the Society.
G. Michael Morris is being recognized for extraordinary contributions to
The Optical Society, including the distinguished service as 2003 OSA
President and his key role in the formation and leadership of the OSA
Foundation.
Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award
Recipient: Robert
Alfano, City University of New York, USA
The
Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award recognizes individuals for their
innovative and influential contributions to the field of biophotonics,
regardless of their career stage. Robert Alfano is being recognized for
his leadership and pioneering contributions in the field of
biophotonics, comprising the diverse use of label-free native
fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy and optical imaging for cancer
detection in tissues and cells.
Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize
Recipient: Demetri
Psaltis, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,
Switzerland
The Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize
recognizes significant research accomplishments in the field of optical
engineering. The award is presented to Demetri Psaltis for pioneering
contributions to the fields of photonics engineering and optofluidics.
Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award
Recipient: Valery
V. Tuchin, Saratov State University, Russia
The
Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award recognizes a recent and outstanding
book in the field of optics and photonics that has contributed
significantly to research, teaching and/or the optics and photonics
industry. The award is presented to Valery V. Tuchin for his book, Tissue
Optics: Light Scattering Methods and Instruments for Medical Diagnosis,
3rd ed., (SPIE Press, 2015).
Award co-sponsored with SPIE.
Nick Holonyak Jr. Award
Recipient: Chennupati
Jagadish, Australian National University, Australia
The
Nick Holonyak Jr. Award is given for contributions to optics based on
semiconductor-based devices and optical materials, including basic
science and technological applications. This year, Chennupati Jagadish
is being honored for his pioneering work and sustained contributions to
quantum-well, quantum-dot and nanowire optoelectronic devices and their
integration.
Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award
Recipient: Martin
Aufmuth, OneDollarGlasses, Germany
The Robert E. Hopkins
Leadership Award recognizes an individual or group of optics
professionals who has made a significant impact on the field of optics
and/or made a significant contribution to society. Martin Aufmuth is
receiving this award for his leadership in establishing and implementing
the project “OneDollarGlasses,” a contribution that demonstrates how
optics can improve living conditions of millions of people in developing
countries.
Edwin Land Medal
Recipient: Jan P. Allebach, Purdue
University, USA
The Edwin Land Medal recognizes pioneering work
empowered by scientific research to create inventions, technologies and
products. Jan P. Allebach is being recognized for his diverse
contributions in development of widely used commercial half toning
algorithms for digital printing, digital image processing and color
management, and also for his leadership as an educator and researcher
within the field of electronic imaging. Award co-sponsored with the
Society for Imaging Science and Technology.
Sang Soo Lee Award
Recipient: Sang-Sam Choi, Laser
and Physics Cooperation, South Korea
The Sang Soo Lee Award
recognizes outstanding leadership in founding or growing the optics and
photonics community locally. Sang-Sam Choi is the recipient of this
award for his revolutionary development of optical fiber in South Korea,
which led to flourishing optical fiber and optical communication
industries within the region. Award co-sponsored with the Optical
Society of Korea.
Emmett N. Leith Medal
Recipient: Francis T. S. Yu, Pennsylvania
State University, USA
The Emmett N. Leith Medal recognizes
seminal contributions to the field of optical information processing.
Francis T. S. Yu is being recognized for his life-long important
contributions to holography, white-light holography, partially coherent
signal processing, optical correlators and information optics.
Ellis R. Lippincott Award
Recipient: Thomas Elsaesser, Max
Born Institute, Germany
The Ellis R. Lippincott Award is given
for contributions to vibrational spectroscopy and is co-sponsored with
the Coblentz Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Thomas
Elsaesser is receiving the award for his seminal contributions to the
understanding of the ultrafast coherent and incoherent vibrational
dynamics of hydrogen bonds in liquids and biomolecules. Award
co-sponsored by the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the Coblentz
Society.
Adolph Lomb Medal
Recipient: Jennifer Dionne, Stanford
University, USA
The Adolph Lomb Medal recognizes noteworthy
contributions made to optics before reaching the age of 35. Jennifer
Dionne is receiving this medal for her research that led to the
revealing of nanoscopic optical phenomena in metal optics.
William F. Meggers Award
Recipient: Brooks Pate, University
of Virginia, USA
The William F. Meggers Award recognizes
outstanding work in spectroscopy. Brooks Pate is being recognized for
the invention of the chirped- pulse Fourier transform microwave
technique, which revolutionized rotational spectroscopy, leading to an
explosion of novel spectroscopic, astrochemical, analytical, dynamical
and chemical kinetics applications.
David Richardson Medal
Recipient: Francisco Duarte, Interferometric
Optics, USA
The David Richardson Medal is given for significant
contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and
industrial sector. Francisco Duarte is receiving the medal for his
seminal contributions to the physics and technology of multiple-prism
arrays for narrow-linewidth tunable laser oscillators and laser pulse
compression.
Edgar D. Tillyer Award
Recipient: Dennis Levi, University
of California Berkeley, USA
The Edgar D. Tillyer Award is
presented to a person who has performed distinguished work in the field
of vision, including (but not limited to) the optics, physiology,
anatomy or psychology of the visual system. Dennis Levi is receiving the
award for his ground-breaking studies of normal spatial vision,
plasticity in the adult visual system and amblyopia.
Charles H. Townes Award
Recipient: Robert W. Boyd, University
of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; University of Rochester, USA; and University
of Glasgow, UK
The Charles Hard Townes Award is given for
contributions to quantum electronics. Robert W. Boyd is receiving the
award for his fundamental contributions to the field of nonlinear
optics, including the development of methods for controlling the
velocity of light, of quantum imaging methods, and of composite
nonlinear optical materials.
R.W. Wood Prize
Recipient: Kishan Dholakia, University
of St. Andrews, UK
The R. W. Wood Prize is given for an
outstanding discovery, scientific or technological achievement or
invention. Kishan Dholakia is receiving this recognition for his
pioneering research into optical micromanipulation using shaped light
for interdisciplinary photonics-based applications.
About The Optical Society
Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and entrepreneurs who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org/100.
