Awards and Medals
Recognize Your Colleagues - Submit a Nomination for an Award/Medal
Our Awards Program spans all areas of optics and photonics, as well as contributions made to the community. Use the award category guide to find the most appropriate recognition.
Unless noted, the nomination deadline for an award/medal is 1 October. Learn more about the nomination process.
- the highest award of the Society, recognizes overall distinction in optics
- recognizes outstanding contributions to education in optical science and engineering
- recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to physical optics, theoretical or experimental
- recognizes service to Optica. Nomination Deadline: 30 June
- recognizes individuals for their innovative and influential contributions to the field of biophotonics, regardless of their career stage.
- recognizes team technical achievements in optical engineering. Nomination Deadline: 10 April
- recognizes research accomplishments in the field of optical engineering.
- recognizes authorship of an outstanding book in the field of optics and photonics, published in the last six years, that has contributed significantly to research, teaching, or the optics and photonics industry (co-presented with SPIE and presented in even-numbered years only). Nominations for the 2024 award should be submitted to SPIE.
- recognizes contributions to optics based on semiconductor-based devices and optical materials, including basic science and technological applications.
- recognizes an individual or group who has had a significant impact on the global optics and photonics community or on society as a whole stemming from non-research oriented activities.
- recognizes pioneering work empowered by scientific research to create inventions, technologies, and products (co-presented with the Society for Imaging Science and Technology).
- recognizes outstanding leadership in founding or growing the optics and photonics community locally (co-presented with the Optical Society of Korea in even-numbered years only).
- recognizes seminal contributions to the field of optical information processing.
- recognizes contributions to vibrational spectroscopy (co-presented with the Coblentz Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy).
- recognizes noteworthy contributions made to optics at an early career stage.
- recognizes an original use of optics across multiple fields.
- recognizes outstanding work in spectroscopy.
- recognizes contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and industrial sector.
- recognizes contributions to lens design, optical engineering, or metrology at an early career stage.
- recognizes distinguished work in the field of vision.
- recognizes contributions to quantum electronics.
- recognizes an Optica employee who contributes significantly to organizational excellence, promotes and enacts innovative solutions or exemplifies inspirational leadership. Nomination Deadline: 21 April
- recognizes contributions to fiber optic technology (co-presented with the IEEE/Photonics Society). Nomination Deadline: 10 August. Nominations should be submitted to IEEE Photonics Society.
- recognizes distinguished contributions in quantum optics and atomic physics as well as leadership in the international scientific community (co-presented with Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft). Nomination Deadline: 30 June. Nominations for 2024 should be submitted to Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG).
- recognizes an outstanding discovery, scientific or technological achievement or invention.