The Prism Awards For Photonics Innovation

Michael Bove
MIT Media Lab, USA

V. Michael Bove, Jr. holds an S.B.E.E., an S.M. in Visual Studies, and a Ph.D. in Media Technology, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is currently head of the Object-Based Media Group at the Media Laboratory and directs the consumer electronics program CELab. He is co-author with the late Stephen A. Benton of the book Holographic Imaging (Wiley, 2008), a fellow of SPIE, a founder of and technical advisor to WatchPoint Media, Inc. (now a part of Tandberg Television), and technical advisor to One Laptop Per Child.

Walter Burgess
Power Technology, Inc., USA

Walter Burgess is the vice president of sales and engineering at Power Technology, Inc., one of the oldest laser companies in the world. He has authored articles in industry publications and has been in the photonics industry for 12 years. In his current role at Power Technology, he oversees the development of lasers from a customer's concept to completion as an OEM product.

Brian Culshaw
University of Strathclyde, UK

Brian Culshaw has just completed a five year term as Head of Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering at Strathclyde University which he joined in 1983 after working in Cornell University, Bell Northern Research, University College London and Stanford. He graduated with a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCL in 1966 and 1970 respectively. He has had a long interest in fibre optic technology evolving more recently into smart structures and opto mechanical systems. He has published five textbooks on fibre sensors and one on smart structures. He has worked in most areas of fibre sensor technology at the research level and taken several through to practical product, some via OptoSci Ltd which he co-founded in 1994. He is a former director of SPIE, and was the founding editor of the International Journal of Optoelectronics. He currently serves as an Associate Editor of Applied Optics and has worked as Special Issue Editor and Editorial Board Member on numerous other journals. He has also chaired or co-chaired numerous conferences in fibre sensors and smart structures.

Timothy Day
Daylight Solutions, USA

Timothy Day is CEO, CTO and chairman of the board of directors of Daylight Solutions (DLS), a molecular detection and imaging company that develops and produces components and subsystems in the mid- and long-wave IR. Prior to DLS, he was one of the four founders of New Focus Inc. and served as CTO and senior vice president. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in physics from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Marta de la Fuente
Indra Sistemas SA, Spain

Marta C. de la Fuente is the Group Manager of the Optical Design Group at Indra Sistemas. She is currently working with the Research Center for Energy and Environment (CIEMAT) to define optical diagnostic tools for fusion reactors within the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) which is an international research and development project to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power. Marta has worked with many small and medium companies to help them innovate their processes and products and become more viable in the optical community. She is a member of the European Technology Platform PHOTONICS 21 and is a current Director of SPIE.

Anthony DeMaria
Coherent, USA

Anthony J. DeMaria retired as Assistance Director of Research of Photonics and Microelectronics from United Technologies Research Center in 1994 after 33 years of service. While at UTRC he performed research on acousto-optical devices (1960 to 1964) applied to lasers, on pico-second laser pulses (1965 to 1970), high power lasers (1970 to 1985), coherent CO2 laser radars (1975-1988), and fiber-optics sensors (1985 -1990). For his research he was elected president of OSA (1981) and of SPIE (2003) and elected to membership of NAE and NAS. In 1994 he co-founded DeMaria ElectroOptics Systems, LLC(DEOS) that manufactured CO2 wave-guide lasers for material processing applications. In 2001, DEOS was sold to Coherent, Inc of Santa Clara, CA. He now serves a Chief Scientist of the Coherent CO2 operation in Bloomfield, CT. He also is employed part time as Professor-in-Residence in the ECE Dept of the University of Connecticut.

Donal Denvir
Andor Technology, N. Ireland

Donal Denvir is one of the original founders of Andor Technology, where he has been technical director since November 1990. Prior to that, he was a lecturer in Informatics/Computer Science at the University of Ulster, Coleraine. Holding a Master of Science in optoelectronics and a Ph.D. in physics from Queens University, Denvir has a wide knowledge of optical-based measurement techniques as well as software and electronic design of scientific digital cameras. He has achieved worldwide recognition and acknowledgement for his technical developments in these products. At Andor, Denvir is chiefly responsible for new product developments and helping set the future technical direction of the company.

Judy Fennelly
Air Force Research Lab, USA

Judy Fennelly holds a PhD and Master Degree in Atmospheric Science and Master and Bachelor Degree in Physics from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Fennelly is a General Research Engineer with AFRL, and she is currently responsible for the development and acquisition of five space weather sensors to be flown on the DSX Mission in 2010. Dr. Fennelly is a science and engineering professional with over 20 years experience in both research and operational space-based remote sensing systems. Currently as part of the leadership of SPIE, she serves as the chairperson of the Awards Committee.

Joseph Gortych
Opticus, USA

Joseph E. Gortych is President of Opticus IP Law PLLC, a intellectual property (IP) law firm based in Sarasota, Florida specializing in optics, photonics and semiconductor technologies. He received his B.S. in physics from Rutgers University, his M.S. in optics from the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics, and his J.D. from Vermont Law School. Mr. Gortych is a registered Patent Attorney and is an active member of SPIE as well as the ABA, OSA and IEEE. Mr. Gortych writes, lectures and provides legal counsel on IP matters relating to high-tech business in the U.S. and abroad.

Randy Heyler
InnovaConnect Partners, USA

Randy Heyler is President/Managing Partner of InnovaConnect Partners an interim Executive and Management services firm. He has over 28 years of product development, manufacturing, marketing, mentoring and executive leadership in the high-technology sector, focused on laser/photonics-based applications and markets. Prior to his move to InnovaConnect, Randy was the senior director of strategic marketing for Newport Corp. He was with Newport for 17 years, first as director of the Instruments Products Group and then as founder and vice president of the Photonics Packaging and Advanced Automation Div., which pioneered the first commercial optical assembly automation solutions for the fiber optic component industry. Prior to Newport, Heyler spent 10 years with Spectra-Physics (now a division of Newport) in various roles in product development, operations and marketing management. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a Master of Science in engineering management from Stanford University, and is active in the IEEE and SPIE technical committees.

Marc Himel
Tessera, USA

Marc D. Himel received his BS degree in Physics from the California Polytechnic State University in 1984, his PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1988, and an MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1998. Following his PhD, Dr. Himel worked as a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the Center for Research in Electro-Optics and Lasers at the University of Central Florida performing research on the characterization of thin film coatings. For 14 years, he worked in the design and development of advanced lithography systems starting with three years at AT&T Bell Laboratories working on the development of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, followed by five years at SVG Lithography Systems working on excimer laser based illumination systems, and seven years as a Product Manager at Tessera North America (formerly Digital Optics Corporation) where he concentrated his efforts on the application of diffractive micro-optics for advanced lithography and inspection. Dr. Himel is currently a Senior Principal Engineer at Tessera North America. His research and development activity has resulted in over 35 published papers and one pending patent.

Robert Huang
Wavelength Technology Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore

Robert Huang is founder and CEO of Singapore Wavelength Technology Pte Ltd, a company engaged in Laser Optics coating and Infrared Imaging Lens assembly. He is also founder of WaveLab Scientific Pte Ltd which distributes optical design software and training across Asia. He actively serves as vice-chair of Singapore Optics & Photonics Society. Prior to that, Robert was General Manager of a laser system integration company. Robert holds an optical engineering degree from Zhejiang University of China and MBA from South Australia University. He is member of SPIE Corporate & Exhibition Committee. Robert has over 20 years experience in the optical industry.

Ray Johnson
Lockheed Martin, USA

Ray O. Johnson is the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Dr. Johnson guides the Corporation’s technology vision and provides corporate leadership in the strategic areas of Technology and Engineering, which include more than 70,000 people working on more than 4,000 programs. Dr. Johnson also leads the Corporation’s Advanced Concepts Organization and the Center for Innovation, a world-class laboratory for collaborative experimentation and analysis involving Lockheed Martin, its customers, and industry partners. Before joining Lockheed Martin, Dr. Johnson was the Chief Operating Officer for Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI), of Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to that, he held a variety of increasingly responsible executive positions with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Concepts Business Unit. Dr. Johnson currently serves as a member of the Sandia Corporation and SPIE Boards of Directors and as a member of the Project Lead the Way Advisory Board.

Ken Kaufman
Hamamatsu, USA

Kenneth Kaufmann has been with Hamamatsu Corp. for 23 years and is currently vice president of marketing. He received a Bachelor of Science from City College of New York and a Ph.D. from MIT in physical chemistry.

Robert Lieberman
Intelligent Optical Systems Inc, USA

Robert Lieberman received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan with an emphasis on solid-state physics and biophysics. After working at AT&T Bell Laboratories for 10 years, Dr. Lieberman joined Physical Optics Corporation (POC), where he became V.P. & General Manager of Research and Development. In 1998, he founded Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS), Inc., and since then he has been a co-founder or senior executive of 5 other companies. During this time, Dr. Lieberman has also served as the Principal Investigator on optical sensor projects with the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense. Dr. Lieberman holds 31 U.S. patents, is the author of numerous scientific articles on optical sensor technology, and has chaired numerous conferences and symposia on biological, physical, and chemical sensors. He is the Chairman of ASTM Subcommittee E13.09 on Fiber Optics, Waveguides, and Optical Sensors, a Fellow of SPIE, and a Senior Member of IEEE.

Brian Lula
PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, USA

Brian Lula has led PI USA as president for 14 years. PI is the world leader in piezo nanopositioning products serving diverse technologies and markets ranging from microscopy and high energy physics to aerospace and medical. Prior to PI, Brian was a Director of Operations at Newport Corporation and has served SPIE in numerous committees for the last 12 years. Recognized internationally as an expert in the aesthetic CCD imaging of astronomical objects and being a mechanical engineer Brian has designed and built two sophisticated astronomical observatories to support this work.

Gabriel Marcu
Apple Computer, USA

Gabriel Marcu is Senior Scientist at Apple, where he is responsible for color calibration/characterization of Apple display based products. His interests are in color reproduction on displays/printers, characterization/calibration, halftoning, gamut mapping, ICC profiling, RAW color processing and he holds several patens in these areas. He taught courses at various IS&T, SPIE and SID conferences. Dr. Marcu was Co-Chair of the Electronic Imaging (EI) Symposium in 2006 and he is Co-Chair of the EI Conference on Color Imaging: Processing, Hardcopy, and Applications since 1998. He serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of SID and for the IEEE Trans on Image Processing Journal. He is an SPIE Fellow and is also a fellow of IS&T.

Paul McManamon
Exciting Technology LLC, USA

Paul McManamon recently retired as chief scientist of the Sensors Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL. The Sensors Directorate develops new sensor technology for the Air Force. He was 2006 President of SPIE. He was on the SPIE board of directors for 7 years and on the SPIE Executive Committee 4 years. He serves on the executive committee for the Military Sensing Symposia, MSS. He received the WRG Baker award from the IEEE in 1998 for the best paper in ANY refereed IEEE journal. He is a Fellow of SPIE and OSA, AFRL, and MSS.

Kazuhiko Oka
Hokkaido Univ, Japan

Kazuhiko Oka is an associate professor at division of applied physics, Hokkaido University, and is working in optical polarization physics and engineering. He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees from the University of Tokyo in 1985 and 1987, respectively, and Doctor of Engineering from Hokkaido University in 1992. He received G. G. Stokes Award from SPIE in 2006 and is a fellow of SPIE.

Jim Pearson
College of Optics & Photonics, Univ of Central Florida, USA

James Pearson received his PhD in Electrical Engineering & Physics from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Pearson is currently the Director of Research & Administration at CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida (UCF). At UCF, he is responsible for establishing research partnerships with individuals and organizations in areas of interest to the UCF faculty. Prior to joining UCF, he was Executive Director of ISA – The Instrumentation, Systems, & Automation Society (1999-2004), Executive Director of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering (1993-1999), and held several positions within United Technologies Corporation (1976-1993), including Chief Scientist at the Research Center, and President of UT Optical Systems. He is a Fellow of SPIE and OSA, and a Senior Member of IEEE.

Bill Plummer
WTP Optics, USA

Bill Plummer received his A.B. and Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University, where he worked with Prof. John Strong in infrared planetary astronomy. At Polaroid he worked closely with Edwin Land and Jim Baker on the SX-70 camera and other commercial products, and was Director of Optical Engineering for more than 20 years. He has published 40 papers and given invited talks around the world. He has 97 US patents for optical, mechanical, electronic and chemical inventions. Plummer received the David Richardson Medal, the Joseph Fraunhofer Award and the Robert M. Burley Prize from the Optical Society of America, as well as the Steve Benton Memorial Award from the NES/OSA. He is a fellow of OSA and of SPIE, an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a senior lecturer with the Mechanical Engineering Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A consultant since 2001, he is founder and president of WTP Optics, Inc.

Richard Powell
College of Optical Sciences, Univ of Arizona, USA

Richard C. Powell is emeritus vice president for research and graduate studies and professor of optical science at the University of Arizona. He received a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in physics from Arizona State University. He has held positions as a staff scientist at Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories and Sandia National Laboratory, and has held academic positions as a professor at Oklahoma State University and the University of Arizona. Powell's professional work is in the area of solid-state spectroscopy and the development of solid-state lasers. He has authored two textbooks and more than 260 scientific articles. He is an elected fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America and has served as president of OSA. He is currently Co-Director of the Science Foundation Arizona Solar Technology Institute.

Ryszard Romaniuk
Warsaw Univ of Technology, Poland

Ryszard S.Romaniuk is a professor of electronics engineering at Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) in Poland. He is research director of the Institute of Electronic Systems at WUT; a fellow of SPIE; an Eisenhower fellow; a member of board in Photonics Society of Poland; a member of IEEE, OSA and EOS; and a member of the editorial boards of professional journals, including Photonics Spectra. He also is scientific secretary of the Committee of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polish Academy of Sciences. Romaniuk has authored several manuals on optoelectronics, more than 300 papers on optical fiber technology and photonic/electronic systems for high-energy physics experiments. He also is the editor of 20 volumes of SPIE proceedings and a member of the development team for the European X-FEL.

Ferechteh Teherani
Nanovation, France

Dr Ferechteh H. Teherani has been involved with the development of novel oxide materials and devices for over 20 years. After receiving her PhD from the University of Paris, Dr Teherani was a researcher at Thales (France), NTT, ETL (Japan) and Northwestern University (USA) before becoming technical director of a start-up. In 2001, she went on to found a startup, Nanovation, of which she is currently CEO. Nanovation develops and commercialises ZnO thin films and nanostructures for optoelectronic. Dr. Teherani also has an MBA, been an Eshbach Scholar at Northwestern University and is an expert for the European Commission.

Andreas Tünnermann
Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Optik und Feinmechanik, Germany

Andreas Tuennermann received the diploma (1988) and Ph.D. degree (1992) in physics from the University of Hannover. In 1997 he worked on the development of ultra stable light sources for interferometric gravitational wave detectors. He was head of the department of development at the Laser Zentrum Hannover from 1992 to 1997. In 1998 he joined the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany as a Professor and Director of the Institute of Applied Physics and became the Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (Jena) in 2003. His main research interests include scientific and technical aspects associated with the generation and mastering of light. His work on high power diode pumped fiber and waveguide lasers and novel micro- and nanooptical photonic devices is widely recognized.

Cole Van Nice
Chart Venture Partners, USA

Cole Van Nice joined Chart Venture Partners in 2006 and currently focuses on investments in photonics, imaging, geospatial, and CBRNE detection (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive) technologies. Prior to joining CVP, Cole was a Vice President of Darby Overseas Investments, an international mezzanine, private equity, and venture capital investment firm founded by the former U.S. Secretary of Treasury Nicholas Brady and eventually acquired by Franklin Templeton. At Darby, Cole contributed to the firm’s growth in assets under management from $250 million to over $1.2 billion. He co-founded the firm’s venture capital business and was involved in various capacities with eighteen private equity and venture capital investments. While at Darby, he served on the Boards of Spring Wireless, CertiSign, Jackbe, and Inova Technologies. Cole holds a B.A. from Washington & Lee University, is a CFA charter holder, and a member of the CFA Institute and Washington DC Society of Investment Analysts.

2009 Prism Award Judges

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