SPIE Student Chapter Members Scott Paine, Jacob Reimers, and Travis Sawyer are among winners in the 2015 Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition sponsored by Synopsys, Inc.
Paine (University of Rochester) was selected for his paper, "A view from the top: design of a wide-field-of-view climbing camera." Paine designed a digital video camera with a large field of view specifically for rock climbing. The camera can be attached to a belay rope to provide a close view of climbers' movements over a wide area. Paine leveraged CODE V's optimization capabilities to achieve good tolerances and a rugged system.
Reimers (University of Rochester) was selected for his paper, "Compact Offner-Chrisp imaging spectrometer using freeform surfaces." The paper describes the use of freeform optics to significantly improve the compactness of a high-performance Offner-Chrisp spectrometer in order to meet stringent size and weight requirements for aerospace and airborne optical systems. The design was developed using CODE V software.
Sawyer (University of Arizona) co-authored "Methane-submersed high-resolution imager" with colleagues Stephanie Guzman, Nicholas Lyons, and Fabian Wildenstein. The paper describes a camera system designed to produce high-resolution images of the Kraken Mare seafloor on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The system, developed in CODE V, incorporates a high-resolution camera, a CCD chip, and an illumination system that acts as the light source.
Yi Qin (University of Arizona) was the fourth winner this year, with the paper, "Design of a multiresolution foveated laparoscope." Using CODE V, Qin developed a laparoscope design capable of providing both wide-angle and high-resolution views during surgery, with the goal of improving the field of view to make laparoscopic surgeries safer and more efficient.
The annual competition is open to students in North America working toward a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree who utilize Synopsys' CODE V® or LightTools® software to perform optical design and engineering research. The awards are granted to students who have submitted papers that demonstrate optical design excellence.
The competition honors the memory of the late SPIE Fellow Bob (Robert S.) Hilbert, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Optical Research Associates.
