BELLINGHAM, WA, USA - 18 November 2008 -Twenty SPIE members have been designated "Senior Member" in a new program that honors their significant contributions to the optics and photonics community.
Separate from the Society's Fellows program, SPIE's Senior Member program encompasses a broad group of active members who have shown outstanding leadership in educational outreach, project management, and/or entrepreneurial operations.
The program recognizes their technical and professional excellence in industry, government, and academia as well as their volunteer service as conference chairs, community educators, and other service roles. This is the first year the SPIE Board of Directors has made selections for the program.
"The Senior Members program provides important recognition of the many long-time volunteers that make SPIE events and activities the success they are today, as well as others who have helped our industry overall," states 2008 SPIE President Kevin Harding. "SPIE is a member-driven organization that relies on such people to achieve the mission of the Society. By distinguishing these important contributions to the optics and photonics community, we recognize the hard work that has grown our industry into a wide-reaching and influential discipline.
A minimum of five years of continuous regular SPIE membership or active volunteerism is required for nomination as a Senior Member. Senior Members also have at least 10 years of significant professional experience and achievement in industry or academia. More information: http://spie.org/seniormember.
Inaugural Senior Members are:
Pierre Ambs
Professor, Université de Haute-Alsace, France
For specific achievements in optical information processing
Theresa Axenson
Staff Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, USA
For specific achievements in lasers and electro-optics
Yihong Chen
Research Engineer, Omega Optics Inc, USA
For specific achievements in photonic control for phased-array radar
Judith Donnelly
Program Coordinator, Laser and Fiber Optic Technology, Three Rivers Community College, USA
For specific achievements in optics education and outreach
Allen Earman
Director of Packaging, Arasor, USA
For specific achievements in photonics and optoelectronics packaging
Jason Eichenholz
Vice President Research & Technology, Ocean Optics Inc, USA
For specific achievements in product development and student outreach
Andrew Forbes
Senior Scientist, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa
For specific achievements in laser beam shaping, optical resonators
Christos Grecos
Reader in Digital Manufacturing, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom
For specific achievements in digital image processing
Joseph Howard
Optical Engineer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA
For specific achievements in optical design of space optics systems
Taegeun Kim
Associate Professor, Sejong University, South Korea
For specific achievements in holography, optical signal processing
Ty Martinez
Senior Scientist, Air Force Research Lab, USA
For specific achievements in adaptive optics and non-mechanical zoom
Douglas McCarter
Vice President & Technical Integrator, McCarter Machine Inc, USA
For specific achievements in enabling the use of silicon in optics
John Merritt
CTO, Merritt Group, USA
For specific achievements in stereoscopic imaging
Ignacio Moreno
Associate Professor of Optics, University Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain
For specific achievements in applications of liquid-crystal spatial light modulators in diffractive optics and polarization optics
Donn Silberman
Senior Applications and Sales Engineer, PI Physik Instrumente LP, USA
For specific achievements in optics education, outreach, engineering
Scott Teare
Professor of Electrical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, USA
For specific achievements in adaptive optics and optics education
Alexander Toet
Senior Staff Scientist, TNO Defence Security and Safety, The Netherlands
For specific achievements in the field of digital image processing in general, and to the area of digital image fusion in particular
Steve Watkins
Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA
For specific achievements in educational leadership & sensor research
David Wick
Principal Member of Tech Staff, Optical Engineer, Sandia National Labs, USA
For specific achievements in active optics: foveated imaging, AO zoom
Andrew Woods
Research Engineer, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
For specific achievements in stereoscopic imaging
SPIE is an international optics and photonics society founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving the interests of its more than 188,000 active constituents representing 138 different countries, SPIE acts as a catalyst for collaboration among technical disciplines for information exchange, continuing education, publishing opportunities, patent precedent, and career and professional growth. As the organizer and sponsor of approximately 25 major conferences and education programs annually in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, SPIE provides publishing, speaking, and learning opportunities on emerging technologies. SPIE contributes more than $1.6 million annually in scholarships, grants, and other programs supporting research and education around the world. For more information, visit SPIE.org
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