Current Award Winners

M. J. Soileau, College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, USA, is the 2008 recipient of the Gold Medal of the Society in recognition of his extraordinary dedication and service to optics education, research, and administration, as well as his exceptional contributions in the areas of laser-induced damage to optical materials and nonlinear optical materials, and concepts for sensor protecting devices.

Adolf Lohmann of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, is the 2008 A. E. Conrady Award winner in recognition of his invention of the computer-generated hologram (CGH) which revolutionized the world of optical testing and design.

Leonid Glebov, College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, USA, is the 2008 Dennis Gabor Award winner in recognition of his discovery and practical implementation of photo-thermo-refractive glass as a new medium for recording high-efficiency volume holographic gratings, and for his pioneering studies of photo-ionization physics of pure and doped glasses which enabled both the discovery and development of relevant technologies. 

John Gille, National Center for Atmospheric Research/University of Colorado, USA, is the 2008 George W. Goddard winner in recognition of his outstanding research and significant accomplishments in building instruments and interpretation of results in the monitoring of the atmosphere, in particular on the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS).

Shin-Tson Wu, College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, USA, is the 2008 G. G. Stokes Award winner in recognition of his exceptional contributions to liquid crystal displays, tunable photonics, and adaptive-focus lenses.

Martin van den Brink, ASML BV, Netherlands, is the 2008 Frits Zernike Award winner in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the advancement of optical lithographic exposure tools. 

Ajoy Ghatak, Indian Institute of technology Delhi, India, is the 2008 Educator Award winner in recognition of his unparalleled global contributions to the field of fiber optics research, and his tireless dedication to optics education worldwide and throughout the developing world in particular.

Bahram Javidi, University of Connecticut, USA, is the 2008 Technology Achievement Award recipient in recognition of his outstanding technical contributions in optical security systems, 3D image recognition, 3D display, 3D visualization, and recognition of biological micro-organisms using 3D imaging systems. 

The 2007 President's Award is presented to Yoseph Bar-Cohen in recognition of his significant contributions to SPIE's interdisciplinary presence in the scientific community as the untiring Chair of SPIE's Smart Structures Symposium over the past eight years, and in particular for his unique ability to recognize opportunities for stimulating the public interest in science and engineering through his imaginative ideas and events.

The 2007 Directors' Award is presented to Paul R. Yoder, Jr., in recognition of his remarkable dedication to the Society in many areas. His service on the Board of Directors and several SPIE Committees has been valuable beyond measure, and his tireless organization of numerous technical conferences and educational courses has been vital to the future of the Society and to the optical engineering community at large.

The 2006 Rudolf Kingslake Medal and Prize is awarded to Sergey S. Sarkisov, Michael J. Curley, LaQuieta Huey, Aisha Fields (not pictured), Sergey S. Sarkisov, II and Grigory Adamovsky for their paper titled "Light-driven actuators based on polymer films" published in the March 2006 issue of Optical Engineering. This paper, selected by the Kingslake Award Committee, is recognized for its original development of new light-driven actuators based on PVDF thin films with potential applications in micro/nano scale.

Harrison H. Barrett and Kyle J. Myers were the 2006 recipients of the first Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award for their work, Foundations of Image Science. Barrett and Myers shared the $5,000 prize and accepted the award at OSA's Frontiers in Optics Meeting in October 2006.

Sanjay Krishna, University of New Mexico, USA, is the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award winner in recognition of his tremendous contributions to the development of mid-infrared focal plane arrays using self-assembled quantum dots in a well (DWELL) design.