SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, Announces 2019 Society Awards

The 24 distinguished award recipients represent achievements across a wide range of light-based sciences as well as the critical advancements made by these technologies

14 January 2019

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA and CARDIFF, UK - The Awards Committee of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, today announced the recipients of its prestigious annual awards. Honoring transformative advancements in medical and molecular imaging, attosecond science, and infrared instrumentation to seminal work in biomedical optics, the Society's awards recognize technical accomplishments as well as committed service to SPIE and the support of its organizational mission.

SPIE Gold Medal Robert Alfano
For outstanding seminal achievements and contributions to advancement of knowledge on fundamental properties of materials and their interaction with light in areas of biology, condensed matter, semiconductors, tunable lasers, and biomedical optics. For crowning achievement in the discovery, development and the generation of "white light continuum" called "Supercontinuum" in matter.

SPIE Directors' Award Carmiña Londoño
For her exceptional contributions to SPIE including working on numerous conference and leadership committees; advocating for public policy that supports photonics; shaping the student chapter program; serving as the SPIE representative to the International Commission for Optics; and co-founding the SPIE Women in Optics program.

SPIE President's Award William H. Arnold
For his dedicated and generous commitment to SPIE through outstanding service, guidance, engagement, and leadership. His decades of work to champion a range of activities that ensure SPIE continues to be relevant to industry, has assured not only the betterment of the Society, but the entire photonics community.

SPIE Visionary Award James C. Wyant
For his role as founding dean of the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona; for pioneering photonics at WYKO Corporation and 4D Technology; for deeply generous philanthropy to enable education in optics; and for thoughtful investment in the future of photonics.

SPIE Britton Chance Award in Biomedical Optics Samuel Achilefu
For his transformative advancements in optical and molecular imaging that have pushed the boundaries of cancer care and treatment and the clinical translation of his technologies to improve patient care.

SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award Stephen A. Boppart
For the development of novel technology in computational optical coherence tomography and its applications to basic and clinical sciences.

SPIE A.E. Conrady Award in Optical Engineering Hubert M. Martin
In recognition of conceptual contributions and the development of new laser methods that have led to the creation of the field of attosecond science.

SPIE Harrison H. Barrett Award in Medical Imaging Inaugural Presentation
Arthur E. Burgess, Charles E. Metz, Robert F. Wagner, and Harrison H. Barrett
For their many and significant contributions to Image Science applied to Medical Imaging.

SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award in High-Speed Optics John Dudley
For pioneering applications of ultrashort-pulse measurement techniques in nonlinear fiber optics and specifically for studies of ultrafast self-similarity, supercontinuum generation, and novel classes of optical soliton and optical rogue waves.

SPIE Dennis Gabor Award in Diffractive Optics Min Gu
For pioneering nanoscale information optics including optically-digitized holography and optical data storage using advanced nanomaterials.

SPIE George W. Goddard Award in Space and Airborne Optics Giovanni Fazio
For his exceptional achievements in the area of infrared instruments spanning 40 years including the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope.

SPIE Mozi Award John Pendry
For his eminent contribution to the development of perfect lens.

SPIE G. G. Stokes Award in Optical Polarization Joseph A. Shaw
For contributions to the understanding of the distribution of optical polarization in the natural environment through the development of instruments, measurement methods, and analysis techniques.

SPIE Chandra S. Vikram Award in Optical Metrology Wolfgang Osten
For his significant contributions to the development of wide-scale optical imaging and metrology.

SPIE Frits Zernike Award in Microlithography Akiyoshi Suzuki and Obert R. Wood II
Suzuki: For contributions in innovation on all phases of lithography exposure tools from proximity printing, projection steppers, projection scanners, 1X and reduction types, reflective and refractive types, g-line, I-line, 248nm, 193nm, and 13.5nm.
Wood: For his pioneering contributions to EUV lithography, from conception to the threshold of high volume manufacturing.

SPIE Early Career Achievement Award: Academic Sarah Elizabeth Bohndiek and Juejun Hu
Bohndiek: For her pioneering work on optical imaging and spectroscopy, and significant advances in molecular imaging for cancer research.
Hu: For his original contributions to integrated optics and photonics through innovative material and device engineering.

SPIE Early Career Achievement Award: Industry/Government Matias B. Steiner
For his pioneering and influential contributions to industrial and applied optics, especially the nanometer scale optical characterization and photonic application of one-dimensional and two-dimensional materials.

SPIE Maria J. Yzuel Educator Award Rick Trebino
For outstanding contributions to pioneering educational practices in optics, including writing the first textbook on ultrashort-pulse measurement, innovative short-course instruction, and his creation of high-quality multimedia-complete optics lectures which he has made freely available to students and instructors worldwide.

SPIE Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award Joe C. Campbell
For pioneering and sustained contributions to high speed, low noise avalanche photodiodes used in optical communication systems.

The complete listing of all SPIE awards, including new awards set to be presented in 2020 -- the SPIE Diversity Outreach Award, the SPIE Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award in Photonics, and the newly revamped SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design -- is available here.

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 257,000 constituents from 173 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2018, SPIE provided more than $4 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. www.spie.org.

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