Entry deadline approaching for Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation

Annual innovation competition sponsored by SPIE and Photonics Media brings visibility, builds brand value

23 September 2016
2016 Prism Award for Photonics Innovation

The gala Prism Awards banquet serves as an industry showcase for the
best new products from across nine industry categories.

BELLINGHAM, Washington, and PITTSFIELD, Massachusetts, USA — Entries are being accepted through 7 October for the prestigious 2017 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation. The competition is sponsored annually by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Photonics Media to honor groundbreaking technology and product inventions within the high-impact industry of optics and photonics.

The Prism Awards competition is not just a beauty contest, as the successes of past winners attest. Presented in nine categories by industry leaders at a banquet featuring the who's who of the photonics industry, the awards boost visibility, recognition, and brand equity for companies bringing innovative products to the market. A scan of recent news details some of the winners' results:

  • Earlier this year, NKT Photonics announced its plan to purchase UK rival Fianium, the winner in the category of Scientific Lasers in 2015 for its high-power fiber lasers generating ultrafast broadband supercontinuum light.
  • In April, acquisition of  PD-LD, the winner in Scientific Lasers in 2012, was completed by Necsel IP Inc. PD-LD won for its dual-laser source for shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy, with a significantly better signal-to-noise ratio than other methods.
  • This summer, Seek Thermal, winner in Imaging and Cameras in 2015 for its thermal imaging camera for consumer products, announced a strategic marketing partnership with OtterBox, one of the top brands in smartphone case protection.
  • Also this summer, Mermec, winner in Detectors, Sensing, Imaging, and Cameras in 2012, was awarded a 10-year inspection contract by the Finnish Transport Agency. Mermec won for its diagnostic systems mounted to the fronts of high-speed trains to perform in-depth inspection and analysis of tunnels and clearance profiles, capturing imaging data of obstacles ahead.
  • Last month, the information technology advisory firm Gartner, Inc., ranked Nanoscribe as one of the top five "Cool Vendors in 3D Printing 2016." Nanoscribe was the winner in Advanced Manufacturing in 2014 for its accurate and fast 3D laser lithography system.
  • Late last year, Amplitude Systèmes announced a financial partnership with Samsung Ventures Investment Corp., and a collaboration agreement on ultrashort-pulse laser microprocessing with the Max Born Institute. Amplitude won in Industrial Lasers in 2012 for its ultrafast fiber laser.

"Our goal with the Prism Awards is to give visibility to the extraordinary innovation across the optics and photonics community," said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. "The range and quality of submissions are striking. Each year we showcase evidence of the realization of the potential for photonics that can be found in SPIE conferences. It is energizing to be part of this enterprise, encouraging invention, and laying the foundations for rewarding and meaningful careers."

Prism Awards applications are judged by a panel of leading industry experts, venture capitalists, luminaries, and visionaries. Winners will be named at a gala banquet on 1 February during SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco, California.

"The 2017 line-up is already poised to be impressive," said Pamela Robertson, SPIE Industry Relations and Prism Awards Manager. "Every year applications give us a glimpse of the future, via technology advances in healthcare, security, manufacturing, consumer electronics — from phones to virtual and augmented reality — and more. I'm honored to work with these individuals and companies."

About SPIE

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering and technology. The Society serves nearly 264,000 constituents from approximately 166 countries, offering conferences and their publi  www.spie.org

About Photonics Media

Photonics Media, a brand of Pittsfield, Mass.-based Laurin Publishing Co. Inc., publishes Photonics Spectra, BioPhotonics, EuroPhotonics, Photonics Buyers' Guide and Photonics.com. With a collective subscriber base of more than 150,000 worldwide and more than 4 million unique website visits per year, Laurin Publishing's Photonics Media products and publications lead the photonics industry with editorial excellence and integrity -- fostering a tradition of innovation and progress by sharing knowledge, insights and visions for the future. More information at www.photonics.com

 

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