• SPIE announces its 2024 Society award winners

    The 20 award recipients span a wide range of optics and photonics disciplines.
    Jan. 12, 2024
    4 min read

    SPIE (Bellingham, WA) has named its 2024 Society awards winners. Awarded annually, they honor transformative optics and photonics advancements in a variety of professional areas, and recognize technical accomplishments as well as committed service to SPIE and support of its organizational mission (see video).

    The 20 award recipients are:

    SPIE Gold Medal: Akhlesh Lakhtakia

    For pioneering research on electromagnetic fields in complex materials including isotropic chiral, bianisotropic, and composite materials, metamaterials, and nanomaterials.

    Related: Devices mimic fruit-fly eyes and butterfly wings

    SPIE President’s Award: Katie Schwertz

    For outstanding service to SPIE and the optics community, through work that advances optical systems design, engages students, and shares the excitement of optics with the public.

    SPIE Directors’ Award: Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop

    For pioneering research in optics and photonics, and for distinguished service to SPIE as a leading light in promoting educational programs and supporting women in science.

    SPIE Mozi Award: Andrea Alù

    For seminal contributions to the field of optical metamaterials as well as their applications for wavefront manipulation and enhancement of nonreciprocal and nonlinear phenomena.

    Related: Controlling light in time via tailored metamaterial?

    SPIE Mozi Award: Teri W. Odom

    For significant contributions to the field of nanophotonics and to the development of moiré photonics.

    Related: Dark plasmons could lead to more efficient solar cells

    SPIE Britton Chance Award in Biomedical Optics: Gerard L. Coté

    For transformative advances in both fundamental and translational optical research toward the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic and infectious diseases.

    SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award: Ji-Xin Cheng

    For the invention and commercialization of mid-infrared photothermal microscopy that allows highly sensitive dye-free bond-selective imaging of living cells and organisms.

    Related: Next-level virus detection via WIDE-MIP microscopy

    SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design: David Shafer

    For outstanding contributions to the field of optical design including DUV and EUV photolithographic scanner designs that define the current technological limit of the semiconductor industry.

    SPIE Harrison H. Barrett Award in Medical Imaging: Kyle J. Myers

    For fundamental contributions to the field of image science, with an emphasis on the role of science in regulatory evaluations of imaging methods.

    SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award in High-Speed Optics: Clara Saraceno

    For groundbreaking contributions to the development of ultrafast high-power lasers and laser-driven terahertz sources.

    SPIE Dennis Gabor Award in Diffractive Optics: Jürgen Czarske

    For significant contributions to the development of digital holography, and related techniques for biomedicine, fiber communication, imaging, information processing, and laser metrology.

    SPIE A.E. Conrady Award in Optical Engineering: Thomas U. Kampe

    For industry-recognized leadership in optical engineering, design, and development—including critical Earth-monitoring instruments—as well as for mentoring the next generation of optical engineers.

    SPIE G. G. Stokes Award in Optical Polarization: Curtis R. Menyuk

    For pioneering studies of linear and nonlinear polarization effects in guided-wave photonics which have impacted basic science, telecommunications systems, lasers, and many other photonics-based technologies.

    SPIE Chandra S. Vikram Award in Optical Metrology: Anand Asundi

    For numerous contributions to coherent optical metrology and sensing, with special attention to digital technologies.

    SPIE Frits Zernike Award for Microlithography: Richard Sandstrom

    For leadership in the development of lithographic-grade lasers and EUV light sources.

    SPIE Diversity Outreach Award: Preeti Jagadev

    For excellence in promoting and advocating diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.

    SPIE Maria Goeppert Mayer Award in Photonics: Iam-Choon Khoo

    For foundational contributions to linear and nonlinear optical properties of liquid crystals and their applications in wide-ranging, wave-mixing, and self-action effects.

    Related: Nanosphere-embedded liquid crystals create tunable metamaterial

    SPIE Maiman Laser Award: Anne L’Huillier

    For the discovery of high-harmonic generation in gases, and contributions to developments in attoscience.

    Related: 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes methods to generate attosecond pulses of light

    SPIE María J. Yzuel Educator Award: Mary G. Turner

    For a lifetime of dedication to the teaching of optical design, and for services to the optics community.

    Related: As applications increase, so does need for training

    SPIE Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award: M. Saif Islam

    For highly impactful innovations in ultrafast and highly efficient photodetectors enabled by photon-trapping structures.

    For more information, please visit https://spie.org.

    Sign up for Laser Focus World Newsletters
    Get the latest news and updates.

    Voice Your Opinion!

    To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!