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.