The Optical Society Announces 17 Award Recipients For 2013

The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to name the 2013 recipients of its prestigious awards and medals. The winners include: Alain Aspect, Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus Quinn Prize; Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, Esther Hoffman Beller Medal; Yaron Silberberg, Max Born Award; Brian C. Wilson, Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award; Wade Thomas Cathey, Jr., Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize; Alessandro Tredicucci, Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award; Mustafa A. G. Abushagur, Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award; Pablo Artal, Edwin H. Land Medal; James R. Fienup, Emmett N. Leith Medal; X. Sunney Xie, Ellis R. Lippincott Award; Andrea Alù, Adolph Lomb Medal; Bahaa Saleh, C.E.K. Mees Medal; Louis F. DiMauro, William F. Meggers Award; Günter Huber, Charles H. Townes Award; James Coleman, John Tyndall Award; H. Jeff Kimble, Herbert Walther Award; and Milton Feng, R.W. Wood Prize. These award winners—hailing from eight different countries—join an esteemed group of past recipients recognized for their unwavering commitment to the field of optics.

“This year’s awardees have made tremendous strides in furthering the science and technology of light and deserve every accolade,” said OSA President Donna Strickland. “OSA is proud to honor these committed individuals for their leadership and innovation in the field of optics around the world.”

Although the criterion for each award differs, the rigorous selection process is the same. A nomination form is submitted with a brief citation summarizing the nominee’s accomplishments with a particular emphasis on those that make him or her a candidate for the award, a one-page narrative on the most significant events in the candidate’s career, curriculum vitae and four letters of reference for the candidate. The OSA Board of Directors appoints a committee to oversee each award or medal selection process. The committee is responsible for the evaluation of each nominee and the selection of the individual or group that is most deserving of the award. Finally, the committee’s selection is presented to the OSA Awards Committee and Board of Directors for their review and final approval.

This year’s award winners are as follows:

Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus Quinn Prize
Recipient: Alain Aspect, Institut d’Optique, École Polytechnique, France; The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
The Frederic Ives Medal is the highest award conferred by OSA for overall distinction in optics. This award is being presented to Alain Aspect for carrying out pioneering research on photons and atoms, shedding light on the most intriguing quantum phenomena and prompting the development of the new field of quantum information. 

Esther Hoffman Beller Medal
Recipient: Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, University of Waterloo, Canada
The Esther Hoffman Beller Medal recognizes outstanding contributions to optical science and engineering education. This year Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to optics education in international and interdisciplinary settings.

Max Born Award
Recipient: Yaron Silberberg, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
The Max Born Award recognizes contributions to physical optics. Yaron Silberberg is being recognized for  contributions in nonlinear and quantum optics, among them the first observation of optical discrete solitons, the prediction of spatio-temporal solitons and light bullets, pioneering experiments with temporal shaping of entangled photons and quantum control, and groundbreaking work in nonlinear microscopy.

Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award
Recipient: Brian C. Wilson, University of Toronto, Canada
Established in 2012, the Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award recognizes individuals for their innovative and influential contributions to the field of biophotonics, regardless of their career stage. The inaugural award goes to Brian C. Wilson, who is being honored for sustained contributions to the field of biophotonics spanning more than 30 years and encompassing outstanding research, technology development, clinical translation and training and education, in the areas of light dosimetry, photodynamic therapy fluorescence and Raman endoscopy, microscopy and nanophotonics.

Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize
Recipient: Wade Thomas Cathey, Jr. University of Colorado Boulder, USA
The Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize recognizes significant research accomplishments in the field of optical engineering. The award is presented to W. Thomas Cathey for seminal contributions to the field of computational optical imaging and its commercial application.

Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award
Recipient: Alessandro Tredicucci, NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR in Pisa, Italy
The Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award is given for contributions to optics based on semiconductor-based devices and optical materials, including basic science and technological applications. This year, Alessandro Tredicucci is being recognized for demonstrating a terahertz quantum cascade device, the first compact injection laser in the far infrared. 

Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award
Recipient: Mustafa A. G. Abushagur, Libyan Policy Institute, Libya
The Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award recognizes an individual or group of optics professionals who has made a significant impact on the field of optics and/or made a significant contribution to society. Mustafa A. G. Abushagur is receiving this award for leadership in education and entrepreneurship, which led to establishment of important programs, institutions and companies devoted to developing optics in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa.

Edwin H. Land Medal
Recipient: Pablo Artal, Universidad de Murcia, Spain
The Edwin H. Land Medal recognizes pioneering work empowered by scientific research to create inventions, technologies and products and is co-sponsored with the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Pablo Artal is being presented this award for his scientific contributions to the advancement of diagnostic and correction alternatives in visual optics. 

Emmett N. Leith Medal
Recipient: James R. Fienup, University of Rochester, USA
The Emmett N. Leith Medal recognizes seminal contributions to the field of optical information processing. James Fienup is being recognized for the integration of optics and digital systems as demonstrated in pioneering contributions to phase retrieval, image restoration, wavefront sensing and computational imaging.

Ellis R. Lippincott Award
Recipient: X. Sunney  Xie, Harvard University, USA
The Ellis R. Lippincott Award is given for contributions to vibrational spectroscopy and is co-sponsored with the Coblentz Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. This year, Sunny X. Xie is receiving the award for his pioneering contributions to the development of nonlinear vibrational imaging, including coherent anti-Stokes Raman and stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, and its applications to chemistry, biology and medicine.

Adolph Lomb Medal
Recipient: Andrea Alù, University of Texas at Austin, USA
The Adolph Lomb Medal recognizes noteworthy contributions made to optics before reaching the age of 35. Andrea Alù is being honored for outstanding contributions to the fields of optical metamaterials and plasmonic optics, and for development of the concept of plasmonic cloaking.

C.E.K. Mees Medal
Recipient: Bahaa Saleh, University of Central Florida, USA
The C.E.K. Mees Medal is presented biennially to a recipient who exemplifies the thought that "optics transcends all boundaries," interdisciplinary and international alike. Recipient Bahaa E. A. Saleh is being recognized for lifelong multidisciplinary contributions to statistical optics, quantum optics and image science.

William F. Meggers Award
Recipient: Louis F. DiMauro, The Ohio State University, USA
The William F. Meggers Award recognizes outstanding work in spectroscopy. Louis F. DiMauro is being recognized for contributions to precision measurements of nonsequential double ionization, exploration of strong field interaction scaling properties from mid-infrared to X-ray and innovative experiments of time-resolved molecular imaging.

Charles H. Townes Award
Recipient: Günter Huber, Universität Hamburg, Germany
The Charles Hard Townes Award is given for contributions to quantum electronics. Günter Huber is receiving the award for seminal contributions to solid state lasers, in particular the growth, development, and fundamental characterization of new laser materials based on laser active transition metal and rare earth ions.

John Tyndall Award
Recipient: James Coleman, University of Illinois, USA
The John Tyndall Award recognizes contributions to fiber optic technology and is co-sponsored with the IEEE Photonics Society. This award is being presented to James Coleman for contributions to semiconductor lasers and photonic materials, processing and device designs, including high reliability strained-layer lasers.

Herbert Walther Award
Recipient: H. Jeff Kimble, California Institute of Technology, USA
The Herbert Walther Award recognizes distinguished contributions in quantum optics and atomic physics, as well as leadership in the international scientific community. It is co-sponsored with the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. This year, H. Jeff Kimble is being honored for his pioneering experimental contributions to quantum optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics, and quantum information science.

R.W. Wood Prize
Recipient: Milton Feng, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
The R. W. Wood Prize is given for an outstanding discovery, scientific or technological achievement or invention. Milton Feng has received this recognition for contributions to the invention and realization of the transistor laser, delivering simultaneously both an electrical signal and a coherent laser output and providing the basis for a revolutionary new higher speed electronic-photonic integrated circuit.

About OSA
Uniting more than 180,000 professionals from 175 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.