16 November 2010

OSA Foundation Recognizes Student Researchers at the Optical Society's Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org

OSA Foundation Recognizes Student Researchers at the Optical Society’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics 2010

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 — The OSA Foundation (OSAF) is pleased to announce that several student researchers recently received awards at the OSAF Chairman’s Breakfast, held during the Optical Society’s (OSA) 94th Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2010 in Rochester, N.Y. Winners were announced for three OSA Foundation programs: The Emil Wolf Outstanding Student Paper Competition, recognizing the research excellence of students presenting their work at FiO; the Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant, providing a merit-based grant to one student  attending the conference; and the Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship, awarding a student pursuing a degree in the field of precision optics manufacturing.

“It is exciting to see the level of creativity and the high quality of research from these students,” said OSAF Chair Michael Morris. “Recognizing the outstanding efforts of student researchers serves as an opportunity to highlight examples of innovation and academic excellence to the wider optics community on both a local and international scale. The OSA Foundation congratulates all the winners on their achievements.”

Emil Wolf Outstanding Student Paper Competition

Six students, of the 20 competition finalists, were named Emil Wolf Outstanding Student Paper Competition winners. Established in 2008, the competition was created in honor of Professor Emil Wolf’s many contributions to science and the Optical Society. The competition recognizes the innovation and excellence of student research presented at FiO. Each FiO subcommittee can select one winner based on their presentation during FiO. Winners receive a complimentary one-year OSA student membership, an award stipend of $300, and an award certificate. The competition is sponsored by the Elsevier publication Optics Communications, with additional support provided by Physical Optics Corporation, the University of Rochester Physics Department, the Institute of Optics ,and individual contributors.

The six winners recognized at FiO 2010 are:

• Gregorius Berkhout, Leiden University and Cosine Science & Computing BV, Netherlands

                    Paper: Sorting Optical Angular Momentum States Based on a Geometric Transformation

• Ori Katz, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
      Paper: Compressive Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

• Gilad Lerman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel  
      Paper: Radial Polarization Interferometer

• Thomas Matthews, Duke University, USA       
   Paper: Nonlinear High-Resolution Imaging of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin Distributions in  Normal Skin Tissue and Melanoma

• Hayden McGuinness, University of Oregon, USA         
   Paper: Frequency Translation of Single-Photon States by Four-Wave Mixing in a Photonic  Crystal Fiber

• Richard Smith, University of Rochester, USA      
      Paper: Direct Measurement of Bend-Induced Mode Deformation Using a Helical-core Fiber

Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant

Tongcang Li of the University of Texas at Austin, USA was awarded the Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant for his research paper titled “Optical trapping and cooling of glass microspheres.” The grant provided $1,000 to cover travel expenses to FiO. The program was established in memory of Jean M. Bennett, a highly decorated research physicist renowned for her contributions to the studies of optical surfaces and who served as OSA’s first female president. It is made possible through the support of Nanoptek Corporation, the Pennsylvania State University Department of Physics and individual contributors.

Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship

The Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Mark Ramme of the College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) and Townes Laser Institute at the University of Central Florida. The scholarship was established in 2008 through contributions from Harvey Pollicove’s friends and colleagues to recognize his work in the field of precision optics manufacturing. It is awarded to a student pursuing a degree in the field of precision optics manufacturing and rotates to a different school each year.

About the OSA Foundation
The OSA Foundation (OSAF) was established in 2002 to support philanthropic activities that help further the Optical Society's (OSA) mission by concentrating its efforts on programs that advance youth science education, provide optics and photonics education to underserved populations, provide career and professional development resources and support awards & honors that recognize technical and business excellence. The grants funded by the OSA Foundation are made possible by the generous donations of its supporters as well as the dollar-for-dollar match by OSA. The Foundation is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is a public charity. To learn more about the OSA Foundation, please visit www.osa-foundation.org.

About the Meeting
Frontiers in Optics 2010 is OSA’s 94th Annual Meeting and is being held together with Laser Science XXVI, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Laser Science (DLS). The two meetings unite the OSA and APS communities for five days of quality, cutting-edge presentations, fascinating invited speakers and a variety of special events spanning a broad range of topics in physics, biology and chemistry. FiO 2010 will also offer a number of Short Courses designed to increase participants’ knowledge of a specific subject while offering the experience of insightful teachers. An exhibit floor featuring leading optics companies will further enhance the meeting.

Useful Links:

• Meeting home page
• Conference program
• Searchable abstracts

About OSA
Uniting more than 106,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.

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