Photonics researchers from America, England and China have been selected as winners of Ocean Optics' Phase 1 Blue Ocean grants, the optical sensing products supplier announced recently. The program, now in its second year, seeks novel ideas and technologies with the potential to change the world for the better and lead to eventual market commercialization, the company said. The program has grown increasingly competitive, with exceptional applications received from all over the world. The $10,000 Phase I grants are issued to fund initial evaluation and development of ideas and technologies to the proof-of-concept phase. They help applicants design and develop new photonics technologies and applications. Phase II grants will be issued to nurture a proposed technology through proof of concept in a way that enables the potential of market commercialization. Phase II awards, which can total as much as $100,000, will be announced later this year, the company said. This year's Phase I winners are: Dr. Anthony M. Filippi and Dr. Burak Güneralp, both of Texas A&M University in College Station, and Dr. Lee Tarpley of Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Center in Beaumont for their proposal, "Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Effect on Arsenic and Water-Stress Detection in Rice." Dr. Damian Gardiner and Dr. Philip Hands of the Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics (CMMPE) at the University of Cambridge in England for their proposal, "Printable Laser Sources for Anti-Counterfeiting Applications." Dr. Zheng Peichao of the College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications in China for the proposal, "Low-Cost On-line Spectra Measurement Device for Metal Ions in Water." Recipients were chosen by Ocean Optics and an independent panel of photonics industry experts based on out-of-the-box thinking, technical merit and potential commercial viability, the company said. For more information, visit: www.oceanoptics.com