Newport Corp. was recently given an award from SPIE in recognition of the photonics company’s financial support of students, early-career entrepreneurs and female professionals in optics and photonics. The advanced technology maker has funded student travel grants since 2004, providing $15,000 annually to enable university researchers to travel and present their work at either SPIE Photonics West in February or SPIE Optics and Photonics in August. The company has also supported SPIE career enhancement programs for young professionals and entrepreneurs for many years, SPIE said. “Over the last decade, Newport Corporation has contributed more than $130,000 in travel funding for student authors to attend SPIE conferences,” said SPIE president Bill Arnold in recognizing the company with a special award at SPIE Optics and Photonics in San Diego in late August. The Newport Research Excellence Travel Awards Program has supported travel to SPIE conferences for numerous students from around the world over the past decade, enabling them to present their research to international audiences, Arnold said. “For more than 40 years Newport has been a strong supporter of the photonics research community,” said Newport vice president Jim Fisher. “At the heart of this community are the students who are advancing the field with their new ideas, perspectives and passion. We are honored to continue to support their work by sponsoring these young innovators to join the many technology experts at important conferences like SPIE Photonics West and SPIE Optics and Photonics to present their research findings, learn about the latest advancements in photonics, and make industry connections that can benefit them in their future endeavors.” Newport has also been a sponsor of the BioPhotonics Start-Up Challenge at SPIE Photonics West, the Optics Outreach Games at SPIE Optics and Photonics, and the Women in Optics planner published annually by SPIE to celebrate achievements of women in the field, the society said. The application deadline for the next round of Newport travel grants is Nov. 25. For more information, including the list of 2013 winners, visit: www.spie.org/x27619.xml