2024 C.E.K. Mees Medal Winner

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Optica Names Naomi Halas the 2024 C.E.K. Mees Medal Recipient

Optica is pleased to announce that Naomi Halas, Rice University, USA, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the C.E.K. Mees Medal. Halas is honored for her design, fabrication, and demonstration of nanoparticles with specific optical and physical properties, the widespread application of which enables advances in fields including cancer therapy, water security, and light-driven chemistry.

Halas received her PhD in Physics at Bryn Mawr College, USA. She was a graduate research fellow at IBM Yorktown and a postdoctoral fellow at AT&T Bell Laboratories. She is currently a University Professor and the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University.

She was the first person to introduce structural control into the synthesis of metal nanoparticles to control their optical properties. She pursues studies of nanophotonics and its applications in biomedicine, optoelectronics, chemical sensing, photocatalysis, and solar water treatment.

Halas is the author of more than 350 refereed publications, has more than 25 issued patents, and has presented more than 600 invited talks. She is a Fellow of Optica, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, IEEE, SPIE, the Materials Research Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. She has won several awards, including the R. W. Wood Prize, the Frank Isakson Prize, the Mildred Dresselhaus Prize, the Willis E. Lamb Award, and Spiers Memorial Award. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Established in 1961, the Mees Medal recognizes an original use of optics across multiple fields. It honors the memory of C.E.K Mees who contributed preeminently to the development of scientific photography, and was a charter member of Optica (then OSA). The medal was endowed by the Mees family.

About Optica

Optica, Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, is the society dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students and others interested in the science of light. Optica’s renowned publications, meetings, online resources and in-person activities fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate scientific, technical and educational achievement.