Awards & Honors

Award | News Release

Optica Names 17 Recipients for 2023 Awards and Medals

Optica is pleased to announce the recipients of several of its 2023  awards and medals. These awards celebrate those in our field who are making significant technical, research, education, business, leadership and service accomplishments.

"On behalf of the Optica Board and membership, I congratulate the 2023 Awardees for their innovative and pioneering contributions to our field and Society," said Michal Lipson, Optica's 2023 President. "I would also like to thank those who nominated candidates, submitted references and served on  selection committees—your service and support of this program is valued and appreciated."

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Award | News Release

Optica Awards Robert Boyd the 2023 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize

Optica has named Robert Boyd, University of Ottawa, Canada and University of Rochester, USA, the 2023 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize recipient.

Boyd is recognized for pioneering contributions to nonlinear optics, including slow light, quantum imaging, and the development of nanocomposite optical materials and metamaterials.

Recognizing overall distinction in optics, this is the highest award of the Society.

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Award | News Release

Ming-Jun Li Named 2023 John Tyndall Award Recipient

Optica and the IEEE Photonics Society have named Ming-Jun Li, a Corporate Fellow at Corning Incorporated, USA, the 2023 John Tyndall Award recipient. Li is recognized for “seminal contributions to advances in optical fiber technology.”

“Dr. Li’s work revolutionized the telecommunications landscape, opening new possibilities for global connectivity,” said 2022 Optica President Satoshi Kawata. “This work benefits us each day and is a testament to how innovation has improved our daily life. We are proud to honor Dr. Li for his outstanding contributions.”

“Ming-Jun Li possesses an extraordinary level of expertise in the design of optical fibers,” added IEEE Photonics Society President René-Jean Essiambre. “The novel fibers he has developed greatly contributed to the worldwide high-speed internet connectivity we are enjoying today, with a remarkable impact on society.”

The award, one of the top honors in the fiber optics community, is named for John Tyndall, a 19th-century scientist who was the first to demonstrate the phenomenon of total internal reflection. It recognizes an individual who has made pioneering, highly significant, or continuing technical or leadership contributions to fiber optic technology.

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Award | Honorary Members

Robert Byer Named Optica Honorary Member

Optica names Bob Byer, Stanford University, USA, as an Optica Honorary Member.

He is recognized for his pioneering contributions to the scientific and technological foundations of lasers and nonlinear optics, his dedicated service to the optics community, and his leadership in academia and professional societies.

"Bob Byer has made extraordinary contributions to laser science and technology through his work as a researcher, educator, mentor, and leader. His exceptional contributions to our field and Society will have a lasting impact," said Michal Lipson, Optica's 2023 President. "It is a great pleasure to welcome Bob into this group of distinguished Optica Members."

Honorary Membership is the most distinguished of all Optica Member categories and is awarded by a unanimous vote of the Optica Board of Directors to individuals who have made seminal contributions to the field of optics. Their number is limited to two-thousandths (2/1000) of the total membership of the Society.

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Award | News Release

Rainer Blatt Named 2023 Herbert Walther Award Recipient

Optica and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesell­schaft (DPG) have named Rainer Blatt, University of Innsbruck, Austria, the recipient of the 2023 Herbert Walther Award.

Blatt is recognized "for outstanding contributions to quantum optics, quantum information science, especially quantum computing and simulation, as well as precision measurements with trapped ions; and for scientific leadership promoting quantum information and nurturing young scientists."

"Rainer Blatt is a visionary whose influence reaches beyond quantum physics. From his work teleporting atoms and developing a universal quantum simulator to applications for spectroscopy and metrology, he continues to push the limits of the field.” said 2022 Optica President Satoshi Kawata. “We also commend Rainer for his efforts to bring quantum science to the general public and young students through lectures and talks.

The award commemorates Max Planck Institute of Quantum Physics Professor Herbert Walther's groundbreaking innovations in quantum optics and atomic physics and other wide-ranging contributions to the scientific community. The Herbert Walther Award recognizes distinguished contributions in quantum optics and atomic physics as well as leadership in the international scientific community.

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Award | News Release

Announcing the 2023 Fellows Class

The Optica Board of Directors recently elected 109 members from 24 countries to the Society’s 2023 Fellows Class. Fellows are selected based on several factors, including outstanding contributions to business, education, research, engineering, and service to Optica and our community.

“I am pleased to welcome the new Optica Fellows,” said Satoshi Kawata 2022 Optica President. “These members join a distinguished group of leaders who are helping to advance the field optics and photonics. Congratulations to the 2023 Class.”

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Award | News

EnFocus Intraoperative OCT Development Team Wins Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award

Leica Microsystems's EnFocus Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography Development Team, received the 2022 Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award. The team was  recognized on 17 October, “for developing an optically brilliant, latency-free intrasurgical optical coherence tomography microscope that fully integrates into the ophthalmic surgical workflow, allowing a surgeon to see more and do more to preserve patient sight.”
 
“Optica is proud to honor this diverse team for their impactful work to improve the outcomes of ophthalmic surgeries by providing surgeons with real-time information and a complete picture of subsurface details,” said Optica President, Satoshi Kawata.

The Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award was established in 1989 and named in remembrance of Paul F. Forman, who helped raise visibility for the optical engineering field in 2007. The award recognizes technical achievements such as product engineering, process, software and patent development, as well as contributions to society such as engineering education, publication and management, and public appreciation of optical engineering.

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