SPIE has announced the winners of its 2009 awards:
Gold Medal of the Society
Richard Hoover is the 2009 recipient of the Gold Medal of the Society in recognition of his work in X-ray and EUV optics, ranging from microscopes to telescopes. His famous full-disk images of the sun in the X-ray and EUV wavelengths are among his many innovative advances for that field. In addition, his interest in the origins of life has led to his long chairmanship of the cross-disciplinary Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology conference. This award is also given in recognition of his extraordinary dedication and service to optics and to SPIE.
The Gold Medal of the Society is the highest honour that SPIE bestows. Beginning in 1977, it has been awarded annually in recognition of outstanding engineering or scientific accomplishments in optics, electro-optics, or photographic technologies or applications. The recipient have made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of relevant technology.
A E Conrady Award
Roland Winston, University of California-Merced, USA, is the 2009 recipient of the A E Conrady Award in recognition of his profound, prodigious and seminal achievements in non-imaging optics, as well as in advancing its applications in solar and illumination technology.
The A E Conrady Award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional contributions in design, construction, and testing of optical systems and instrumentation, without which the technology would not have progressed to its present state.
Dennis Gabor Award
Rajpal Sirohi, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Rajasthan, India, is the 2009 winner of the Dennis Gabor award in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the science and technology of numerous aspects of holography, speckle metrology, interferometry, and confocal microscopy.
The Dennis Gabor award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in diffractive wavefront technologies, especially those which further the development of holography and metrology applications.
George W Goddard Award
Neil Gehrels, Astropartical Physics Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Centre, NASA, USA, is the 2009 winner of the George W Goddard award in recognition of his pioneering contributions in opening the gamma-ray spectral window as its own astronomical discipline through his leadership of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Swift Mission.
The George W Goddard Award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional achievement in optical or photonic instrumentation for aerospace, atmospheric science, or astronomy. The award is for the invention and development of a new technique, photonic instrumentation, instrument, or system.
Frits Zernike Award in Microlithography
Chris Mack, is the 2009 recipient of the Frits Zernike Award for Microlithography in recognition of his contributions to the development and dissemination of the well known Prolith suite of lithography simulation software and for his contributions to the underlying principles upon which it is based. The nomination is also made in recognition of his dedication and success as a teacher and author.
The Frits Zernike Award is given for outstanding accomplishments in microlithographic technology, especially those furthering the development of semiconductor lithographic imaging solutions.
SPIE Early Career Achievement Award
Marc Kuchner, Laboratory for Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, USA, is the 2009 recipient of the Early Career Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements which have greatly facilitated the detection and characterisation of extra-solar planets. His invention and refinement of new telescope coronagraph masks provide astronomers with innovative tools needed to detect planets directly around bright stars.
The SPIE Early Career Achievement Award, given for the first time in 2008, is awarded to an early-career professional in recognition of significant and innovative technical contributions to any of the engineering or scientific fields of interests to SPIE.
SPIE Educator Award
Fenna Hanes, New England Board of Higher Education, USA, is the 2009 Educator Award winner in recognition of her leadership in several NSF-ATE programmes, and her unfailing enthusiasm for optics/photonics technology. Hanes has fostered the growth of optics education in secondary schools and colleges throughout the US.
The SPIE Educator Award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to optics education by an SPIE instructor or an educator in the field.
SPIE Technology Achievement Award
James G Grote, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, USA, is the 2009 recipient of the Technology Achievement award in recognition of his outstanding contributions in photonic engineer technology through his inception and significant accomplishments in the new field of biotronics - biopolymer-based photonic and electronic materials and devices.
The SPIE Technology Achievement award is awarded annually to recognise outstanding technical accomplishment in optics, electro-optics, photonic engineering, or imaging. The recipients have contributed significantly to the advancement of one or more of these areas with specific demonstrations or applications.
