The Photonics Frontiers Award 2025 – brought to you by the team behind Electro Optics – is now accepting entries! Designed to celebrate the most groundbreaking applications of photonics, this award highlights real-world innovations where photonics plays a transformative role. Whether you're developing cutting-edge laser technologies, advancing optical communications, or pioneering biophotonics solutions, this is your chance to gain industry-wide recognition.
Winning a Photonics Frontiers Award means more than just an accolade. It’s an opportunity to showcase your project to a global audience, gain credibility with expert validation, and unlock new collaborations and market opportunities. With diverse categories covering everything from spectroscopy to sustainability, we’re looking for projects that push the boundaries of applied photonics. Entries close on 15 March 2025—submit yours today!
Awards, of course, need judges and Electro Optics is delighted to announce the first two on its panel of independent photonics luminaries.
Antonio Castelo, EPIC
Antonio Castelo, Technology Expert for Bio-Medical and Lasers at EPIC (the European Photonics Industry Consortium), has joined this year’s Photonics Frontiers Award 2025 as a judge in the ‘Laser technologies and applications’ category.
Antonio joined EPIC in 2022 and is already a familiar face at photonics events around the world, including currently at Photonics West as well as at Electro Optics’ own Photonex event in Manchester late last year.
He is also a frequent contributor to Electro Optics, interviewing C-suite executives from significant European and global photonics companies (such as HORIBA, GLOphotonics and Coherent) about the challenges and opportunities they face.
Antonio has a PhD from the department of applied physics of Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in laser processing of glassy samples and did postdoctoral work at the Optics Institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where he worked on the fabrication of nanostructures with dielectric and metallic materials via pulsed laser deposition.
Antonio has also worked as a sales engineer in both the photonics department of Acal BFi and at Grupo Álava, and was subsequently US sales manager for the company Fyla, a manufacturer of supercontinuum and ultrafast fibre lasers.
John Lincoln, Photonics Leadership Group
John Lincoln is one of the UK’s leading and most respected voices in the photonics industry, and was recognised as such in the very first Photonics100, back in 2023. He has joined this year’s Photonics Frontiers Award 2025 as a judge in the ‘Spectroscopy and analytical techniques’ category.
He currently has a portfolio of positions working alongside his role as Chief Executive of the Photonics Leadership Group, which champions photonics in the UK. He is the founder of business development consultancy Harlin, supporting multiple clients in assessing market opportunities and business development in photonics; is a coach for European Innovation Council (formerly SME instrument) supporting innovators in their business growth and innovation journey at SMEs across Europe; and a member and chair of multiple advisory boards including SMEs and academic projects.
John, too is a familiar face at photonics events and in the pages of Electro Optics, and was part of the panel discussion held at the first Photonics100 Meet-Up event, held in Manchester last year, where he warned attendees that the scale of integration coming to photonics will be “incredibly disruptive” and that “the people who work this [out the fastest] will be the leaders of the future. Those who laggard that change may see themselves not existing.”
Who should enter the Photonics Frontiers Award?
The award is open to integrators, OEMs, academic institutions, and end users actively working on photonic projects. Technology vendors and component manufacturers are encouraged to collaborate with their clients to support their submissions.
Timeline
Entries are now open! Key dates include:
- Submissions deadline: 15 March, 2025
- Shortlist announcement: 22 April, 2025
- Award ceremony: 24 June, 2025, at Laser World of Photonics.
How to enter
Submitting your project is simple:
- Visit https://tinyurl.com/5n6c2c3b
- Complete the entry form and upload supporting materials.
- Await confirmation and updates from our team.
Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the application of photonics and gain well-deserved recognition for your innovative projects.
Enter now and be part of the Photonics Frontiers Award 2025 – where innovation meets impact.
If you have any queries, please contact rachel.marston@europascience.com.
