Dunedin, FL--Ocean Optics has announced the winners of this yearâs Phase I Blue Ocean Grants, which honor novel ideas and technologies with the potential to change the world for the better and lead to eventual market commercialization. In its second year, the program has grown increasingly competitive with exceptional applications received from all over the world.
The Blue Ocean Grants are divided into two phases. Phase I grants are issued to fund initial evaluation and development of ideas and technologies to the proof-of-concept phase. These $10,000 awards help applicants design and develop new photonics technologies and applications. Phase II grants will be issued to nurture a proposed technology through proof-of-concept in a way that enables the potential of market commercialization. Phase II awards are much larger (up to $100,000) and will be announced later this year.
This yearâs Phase I winners are:
Anthony M. Filippi, Ph.D., and Burak Güneralp, Ph.D., from the Department of Geography, Texas A&M University; College Station, TX, and Lee Tarpley, Ph.D., from the Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Center; Beaumont, TX, for their proposal entitled âBidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Effect on Arsenic and Water-Stress Detection in Rice.â
Dr. Damian Gardiner and Dr. Philip Hands from the Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics (CMMPE) at the University of Cambridge in England for their proposal entitled âPrintable Laser Sources for Anti-Counterfeiting Applications.â
Dr. Zheng Peichao from the College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China, for the proposal entitled âLow-Cost On-line Spectra Measurement Device for Metal Ions in Water.â
Recipients were chosen by Ocean Optics and an independent panel of photonics industry experts based on potential to change the world for the better, out of the box thinking, technical merit and potential commercial viability.
For more information on the program, including full abstracts on the award-winning ideas, visit www.oceanoptics.com/corporate/blue_ocean_grants.asp.
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