Daily News Briefs

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has awarded the 2004 IEEE Medal of Honor to Tadahiro Sekimoto, former chairman of NEC Corp. An IEEE Life Fellow, Sekimoto is recognized for his contributions to the field of digital satellite communications, promotion of information technology research and development and technical and corporate leadership in computers and communications. He was among 20 award winners at the IEEE annual meeting, held last week in Kansas City, Mo. For a list of award winners, visit: www.ieee.org . . . Modulight Inc. (Finland) and Contraves Space (Switzerland) announced they have entered into an agreement for delivery of fiber pigtailed laser diodes to the European Space Agency for the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite mission. Modulight lasers will be part of the optical harness of the innovative MIRAS (microwave imaging radiometer using aperture synthesis) instrument that will form the core of the SMOS mission. The MIRAS optical harness is designed and manufactured by Contraves Space. The lasers will constitute a key part of the information delivery system that will be used for cross-correlation of the 72 radiometers that jointly form a very high-sensitivity virtual antenna. The SMOS satellite, the first of its kind, will be used for observations of the Earth's climate and environment. . . . Mark Hatlen has been named CFO of Aculight Corp., a Bothell, Wash., developer of laser technologies for medical, industrial and national defense applications. Hatlen was formerly controller and treasurer at Avocent Corp., a manufacturer of switches for server networks.