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Photonics Innovators Named 2015 Prism Awards Finalists

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Light-based products that detect and pinpoint cancer cells, enable 3-D manufacturing at the micro-nanoscale and improve highway safety are among finalists in nine categories for the 2015 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation, an annual competition recognizing new products and inventions that break with conventional ideas, solve problems and improve the quality of life.

The awards are sponsored by SPIE of Bellingham, Wash., and Photonics Media of Pittsfield, Mass. Winners will be announced by industry leaders on Feb. 11 during SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco. Entries are judged by an independent panel of experts, including industry executives, leading academic researchers, venture capitalists and past Prism Award winners. Many of the finalists will be showcasing their innovative products during the exhibition at Photonics West (Feb. 10-12) and BiOS (Feb. 7-8).

“Once again this year, some of the very creative innovators in our dynamic field have presented the Prism Awards judges with the distinct challenge of choosing a few finalists from among a large field of impressive products,” said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. “These new products bring valuable new capabilities, and the wide range of applications illustrates the ubiquitous influence of photonics in our lives.”

The diversity of companies, from well-established industry leaders to university-industry startup collaborations, illustrates the influence of photonics on the economy, Arthurs said.

“The photonics industry, which annually accounts for around $480 billion in global revenues, serves as both a stabilizing force and as an inspirational disruptor, illuminating the path toward new markets, new revenues streams and new job creation.”

This year’s finalist products include devices to identify bacteria in much smaller concentrations than previous methods to help identify food-safety threats such as E. coli sooner; to monitor and quickly analyze even trace-level chemicals in environmental, manufacturing or agricultural applications; and to enable new levels of scalability and new 3-D capabilities in manufacturing, among other applications.

“From our great vantage point — on the receiving end of daily research and product launch news — we see the endless innovation from photonics industry companies,” said Laurin Publishing CEO Tom Laurin. “We take pride in supporting these organizations and sharing these advances with the industry and the world. On the threshold of the International Year of Light 2015, we are once again proud to collaborate with SPIE to present the Prism Awards, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 2015 finalists.”

One winner will be selected from among the three finalists in each category. Winners will be announced at a gala banquet on Feb. 11, one of the largest gatherings of CEOs and other VIPs in the photonics industry.

Past presenters include industry leaders such as Amazon Vice President Babak Parviz, one of the inventors of Google Glass; Mario Paniccia, general manager of Intel’s silicon photonics operation; Mary Lou Jepsen, currently head of the Display Division at Google X, as well as founder and former CEO of Pixel Qi and co-founder and first CTO of One Laptop per Child; and Michael Mertin, president and CEO of Jenoptik and president of the Photonics21 executive board.

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The Prism Awards were developed to recognize innovative products that are newly available on the open market. Each category is meant to isolate a specific contribution in photonics from a technology area or sector of the industry. Categories have been added, removed and updated over time to reflect trends in the industry.

Finalist companies and their products, by category, are:

Additive Manufacturing
• FEMTOprint: FEMTOPRINT
• LUXeXcel: Printoptical Technology
• Multiphoton Optics: LithoProf3D

Biomedical Instrumentation
• BacterioScan: Laser Microbial Growth Monitor
• Clearbridge Biophotonics: Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy
• TomoWave Laboratories: Laser Optoacoustic Imaging System (LOIS-3D)

Detectors and Sensors
• Hamamatsu: Micro-spectrometer (C12666MA)
• Lufft: MARWIS
• OndaVia: OndaVia Analysis System

Imaging and Cameras
• Advanced Scientific Concepts: Peregrine 3D Flash LIDAR Camera
• ESPROS Photonics: OHC15L
• Seek Thermal and Raytheon: Seek Thermal Camera

Industrial Laser
• Cobolt: Cobolt Odin
• IPG Photonics: GLPN-500-R
• JDSU: PicoBlade

Materials and Coatings
• ALPhANOV: Laser-engineered surfaces
• Inrad Optics: Stilbene Scintillation Crystals
• TelAztec LLC: Antireflection Microstructures (ARMs)
  
Optics and Optical Components
• Corning, US Conec, and Intel: MXC Connector
• Varioptic, a business unit of Parrot: Visayan 80S0
• Vescent Photonics: SEEOR (Steerable Electro-Evanescent Optical Refractor)

Other Metrology Instrumentation
• Mahr: TWI 60
• Polytec: MSA-100-3D Micro System Analyzer
• WITec: RISE Microscopy

Scientific Lasers
• Fianium: WhiteLase SC400-20
• Northrop Grumman – Cutting Edge Optronics: 7.5 Joule Laser Amplifier
• Optonicus: Intelligent Fiber-Collimator Array (INFA)

For more about the awards, visit www.photonicsprismaward.com.

Published: December 2014
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Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement, including the development of measurement standards, techniques, and instruments, as well as the application of measurement principles in various fields. The primary objectives of metrology are to ensure accuracy, reliability, and consistency in measurements and to establish traceability to recognized standards. Metrology plays a crucial role in science, industry,...
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