Bigger than ever, Photonics West also gives awards

Feb. 12, 2013

San Francisco, CA--Total registered attendance was 20,737, up more than 2% from last year. The exhibitions were larger--1,239 companies at Photonics West and 225 in the BiOS Expo--and there were more papers (over 4,500) in the technical programs.

Conard Holton

San Francisco, CA--The final numbers are in for SPIE Photonics West conference and exhibition, which drew optics and photonics researchers, developers, and suppliers to San Francisco from February 2-7. Total registered attendance was 20,737, up more than 2% from last year. The exhibitions were larger--1,239 companies at Photonics West and 225 in the BiOS Expo--and there were more papers (over 4,500) in the technical programs.

There were also numerous awards given for innovative products.

Prism Awards
The prestigious Prism Awards for excellence in photonics were made in nine categories:
• Defense and Security: OEwaves for its Micro-Opto-Electronic-Oscillator (information systems on UAVs and other platforms)
• Green Photonics (tie): Visualant for ChromaID (environmental-toxin and food-safety testing) and Leosphere
R-MAN510 (real-time detection of atmospheric hazards)
• Industrial Lasers: TeraDiode for TeraBlade 2kW high brightness direct diode laser (for industrial metal cutting and welding)
• Scientific Lasers: Continuum for Horizon OPO (full-spectrum spectroscopy research tool)
• Detectors, Sensing, Imaging, and Cameras: Princeton Instruments for IsoPlane SCT spectrograph (research-grade imaging spectrograph)
• Life Sciences and Biophotonics: Verisante Technology for Aura (multimodal imaging for skin cancer detection)
• Manufacturing: Heidelberg Instruments for MicroPG501 Direct Write Lithography System (desktop maskless
lithography tool for small patterns)
• Optics and Optical Components: TAG Optics for TAG Lens 2.0 (ultrahigh-speed acoustics to increase depth of field)
• Test, Measurement, Metrology: Linden Photonics for Lindex Optics Cleaners (cleaning media for fiber optics)

Startup Challenge
Other notable awards went to the winners of the Startup Challenge (companies had 3 minutes to make a pitch to a panel of judges). From the ten finalists, the winners were:

- 1st Place to Arun Chhabra and Erik Klaas (co-founders) of 8-tree - $10,000 prize for fastCHECK: a 3D surface inspection system that is fast, accurate and easy-to-use.
(see a video of pitch HERE)

- 2nd Place to Ryan Denomme (founder) of Nicoya Lifesciences - $5,000 prize for a compact, low cost, high performance optical biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics

- 3rd Place to Frank Palmer (CEO) of Cold Steel Laser - $2,500 prize for remote image guided endoscopic surgery (RIGES) platform"

The judges for the final competition were:
Jason Eichenholz - Open Photonics
Patricia Glaza - Arsenal Venture Partners
Bruce Itchkawitz - Knobbe Martens
Jay Kumler - JENOPTIK Optical Systems
Adam Wax - Duke University

Congratulations to all the award winners!

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.