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24 October 2013
OSA Foundation Recognizes Outstanding Student Researchers at Frontiers in Optics 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
202.416.1443
lmeyer@osa.org
OSA Foundation Recognizes Outstanding Student Researchers at Frontiers in Optics 2013
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2013 – The OSA Foundation (OSAF) is pleased to announce the most recent student grant and scholarship recipients, recognized during The Optical Society’s (OSA) 97th Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2013 in Orlando, Fla. Winners were announced for seven OSAF programs: the Emil Wolf Outstanding Student Paper Competition, the Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant, the Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Student Travel Grant, the Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship, the Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Scholarship, the Incubic/Milton Chang Student Travel Grants, and The OSA Foundation Student Travel Grants.“Student researchers are an invaluable part of the optics and photonics community and each of these students are examples of innovation and academic excellence,” said OSAF Chair Michael Morris. “The OSA Foundation is proud to provide the recipients with this support and congratulates all the winners on their achievements.”
Emil Wolf Outstanding Student Paper Competition
Seven students 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 OSA. The competition recognizes the innovation and excellence of student research presented at FiO. Each technical subcommittee can select one winner based on their presentation during the meeting. The competition is sponsored by the Elsevier publication Optics Communications, with additional support provided by Physical Optical Corporation, the University of Rochester Physics Department, the Institute of Optics, and individual contributions. Winners receive a complimentary one-year OSA student membership, an award stipend and a certificate.
The winners recognized at FiO 2013 were:
- Shao-wei Chou, Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Germany
- Itai Epstein, Tel Aviv University, Israel
- Kyu Hyun Kim, University of Michigan, USA
- Martin Lavery, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Lane Martin, University of Central Florida, USA
- Mohammad Mirhosseini, University of Rochester, USA
- Ori Sapir, University of Adelaide, Australia
Laszlo Gyongyosi of Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary was awarded the 2013 Jean Bennett Memorial Student Travel Grant. This grant provided a stipend 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.
Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Student Travel Grants
Doron Bar-Lev of Tel-Aviv University in Israel was awarded the 2013 FiO Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Student Travel Grant. This program was established in 2009 by the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys as a memorial to their former president and CEO Robert S. Hilbert. The grants, which provide a stipend to cover travel expenses to FiO, are awarded to students conducting outstanding research in the areas of optical engineering, lens design, and illumination design.
Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship
Laura Coyle of the University of Arizona was awarded the Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship. 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. The monetary award is given to a student pursuing a degree in the field of precision optics manufacturing and rotates among four institutions: the University of Rochester, the University of Arizona, the University of Central Florida, and Monroe Community College in New York.
Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Scholarship
Yanhui Zhao of Penn State University was awarded the Boris P. Stoicheff Memorial Scholarship. Established in 2011 by the OSAF and the Canadian Association of Physicists Educational Trust Fund (CAP-ETF), this program pays tribute to Boris P. Stoicheff, an internationally renowned laser spectroscopist who also served as President of OSA and CAP.
Incubic/Milton Chang Student Travel Grant
Funded by an endowment from OSA member Milton Chang, this program provides 10 grants to students presenting papers at FiO. The 2013 recipients were:
- Boris Afinogenov, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
- Anderson Amaral, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil
- Ajanta Barh, IIT Delhi, India
- Cristian Cortes, University of Alberta, Canada
- Itai Epstein, Tel Aviv University, Israel
- Ondrej Kitzler, Macquarie University, Australia
- Francesco Monticone,The University of Texas at Austin, USA
- Sergey Svyakhovskiy, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
- Polina Vabishchevich, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
- Nadezhda Zhdanova, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
OSAF offers travel grants to students from qualifying developing nations, to help off-set the costs of attending FiO. Applicants for travel grants must be working or studying in a qualifying developing nation, be enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate program, demonstrate need for travel support, and submit a written statement on the value of attending the conference. Travel grants average $1,500 per award. The recipients for FiO 2013 were:
- Venus Dillu, Delhi Technological University, India
- Phoebe Hsiao, National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan
- Lucien Mandeng, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon
- Renato Martins, Institute of Physics Sao Carlos, Brazil
- Sara Mohammed, American University in Cairo, Egypt
- Geo Muppathiyil, University of Hyderabad, India
- Basudev Roy, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India
- Jalpa Soni, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India
- Polina Vabishchevich, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
- Zih-Ying Yang, Institute of Lighting and Energy Photonics, Taiwan
About The OSA Foundation
The OSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation established by The Optical Society (OSA) in 2002 to carry out charitable activities that support OSA’s mission of promoting the generation, application, archiving and worldwide dissemination of knowledge in optics and photonics. The Foundation helps cultivate the next generation of leaders and innovators in the optics and photonics community as they move through advanced degree programs and become active members of research and engineering communities around the globe. The Foundation also works to secure OSA Awards and Honors program endowments. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 800 grants, scholarships, and prizes benefiting thousands of individuals in more than 55 countries. Donations to the OSA Foundation are matched dollar-for-dollar by OSA. For more information, visit www.osa.org/foundation.
About the Meeting
Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2013 is The Optical Society’s (OSA) 97th Annual Meeting and is being held together with Laser Science XXIX, 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 optics and photonics—the science of light—across the disciplines of physics, biology and chemistry. FiO 2013 will also offer a number of Short Courses designed to increase participants’ knowledge of a specific subject in the optical sciences while offering the experience of insightful teachers. An exhibit floor featuring leading optics companies will further enhance the meeting. More information at www.FrontiersinOptics.org.
