Brussels, Belgium—Two students from European universities shared the second Photonics21 Student Innovation Award presented today during the opening ceremonies of Photonics Europe. Dr. Nathalie Vermeulen of Vrije University (Brussels) and Sedat Nizamoglu of Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) were recognized for their outstanding (separate) work in the areas of silicon-on-insulator Raman devices and white-light LEDs respectively.
The award was presented by Photonics21 vice president Dr. Giorgio Anania. During the presentation Anania noted that this prize for optics and photonics research was originally motivated by Europe’s anticipated need for an additional 80,000 new photonics workers over the next ten years to cope with rapid industry growth and retirement of skilled workers. As a result Photonics21 has taken the initiative to actively support education in photonics and optics.
The Student Innovation Award was established last year by members of Photonics21 Workgroup 7 and was first presented at Laser, World of Photonics in Munich, 2009. Anania said that the award is intended to honor excellent and significant industrially related research and aims to promote research with a high industrial impact throughout Europe.
The award committee noted that Vermeulen’s research in silicon-on-insulator based lasers, amplifiers, and wavelength converters is likely to have considerable impact on optical communications but may also support other industrial applications. Her research paper is entitled, “Silicon Raman devices with enhanced efficiency and reduced heat dissipation.”
Nizamoglu has been working on a new class of white-light LEDs integrated with nanophosphors of semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots aimed at efficient high-quality lighting. His research paper is entitled “White light generation using CdSe/ZnS core–shell nanocrystals hybridized with InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes.” The award committee highlighted the high potential for these devices in future high-quality displays as well as lighting.
Congratulating both students on their achievement, Honorary Chair of the Photonics Europe conference, Hugo Thienpont commented that the Photonics21 Student Innovation Award is currently one of the most prestigious awards currently available to students in Europe.
Posted by Steve Anderson