2022 Distinguished Service Award Winner

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Optica Names Joseph A. Izatt the 2022 Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award Recipient

Optica (formerly OSA) is pleased to announce that Joseph A. Izatt, Duke University, USA, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award. Izatt is being honored for over 25 years of outstanding service to the optics community and Optica in areas as diverse as publications, conferences, strategic planning, and the Optica Board of Directors.

Joseph A. Izatt received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He is currently the Michael J. Fitzpatrick Professor of Engineering in the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School of Engineering. He co-founded Bioptigen and previously held positions at University Hospitals of Cleveland, USA, and Case Western Reserve University, USA.

Izatt is a long-time volunteer and leader who has helped shape and strengthen Optica’s conferences, publications, and overall strategy. He has served on many committees and councils, including the Board of Editors, Publications Council, Board of Directors, and the Strategic Planning Council. He was the founding Editor of Biomedical Optics Express and of the Biomedical Optics Division of Applied Optics.

In addition to his outstanding service, Izatt has made fundamental contributions to many coherence-based optical imaging technologies, especially optical coherence tomography (OCT). A highly cited author, he has published over 200 technical papers and more than 350 contributed conference presentations, delivered 135 invited lectures and presentations, and holds over 75 US patents. He is a Fellow of Optica, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and SPIE.

Established in 1973, the Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who, over an extended period of time, have served the Society in an outstanding way, especially through volunteer participation in its management, operation, or planning in such ways as editorship of a periodical, organization of meetings, or other service to the Society. The award was created in memory of Stephen M. MacNeille and was named in honor of Stephen D. Fantone in 2013. It is endowed by the American Optical Corporation and contributions from individual members.

About Optica

Optica (formerly OSA), 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.