Applications are currently being accepted for the 2018 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation. The competition is sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Photonics Media to honor groundbreaking technology and product inventions within the high-impact industry of optics and photonics. Winners are announced by industry leaders at a gala banquet during SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco. The awards boost visibility, recognition and brand equity for companies bringing innovative products to the market. Among presenters of the 2018 awards will be Akira Hiruma, president and CEO of Hamamatsu Photonics KK; Ray O. Johnson, former senior vice president and CTO of Lockheed Martin Corp.; and Peter Leibinger, vice chairman of the managing board of Trumpf GmbH and Co. “In providing visibility to some of the most creative applications of optics and photonics technology each year, the Prism Awards help raise awareness about the importance of technology in general for economic growth, and the key role of photonics as an enabling technology in so many areas of life,” said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. Prism Awards applications are judged by a panel of leading industry experts, venture capitalists, luminaries and visionaries who select finalists and winners in several categories for new products. “For 10 years, the Prism Awards have brought well-deserved attention to the most exciting and beneficial new products in the photonics field — products that have gone on to make their marks in an increasing number of industries,” said Thomas Laurin, president and CEO of Laurin Publishing. The application deadline is October 6. Finalists will be announced in mid-November, and winners will be announced during the awards banquet on January 31 in San Francisco. For more information and to apply, visit photonicsprismaward.com.