Rice University

Professor Tomasz Tkaczyk of Rice University in Houston has been named winner of the 2012 Norman Edmund Inspiration Award in recognition of his development of optical imaging technologies for early detection and treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. He will receive $5000 in products from Edmund Optics, an optical components company based in Barrington, N.J. The award was created to honor the contributions made by the late Norman Edmund to the science of optics. The company selected Tkaczyk from its 2012 Higher Education Grant Program first-place award recipients in the Americas, Europe and Asia. He and his team have made significant advances in miniature microscope objectives and endomicroscopy systems.