SPIE awards 2009 scholarships

11 May 2009

BELLINGHAM, WA, 7 May 2009 – SPIE is awarding $292,000 in scholarships to 116 outstanding individuals, based on their potential for long-range contribution to optics and photonics, or a related discipline. Award-winning applicants were evaluated and selected by the SPIE Scholarship Committee.

To date, SPIE has distributed over $2.5 million dollars in individual scholarships. This ambitious effort reflects the Society's commitment to education and to the next generation of optical scientists and engineers around the world.

Chee-Loon Tan, Lehigh University, is awarded the SPIE D.J. Lovell Scholarship. It is the Society's most prestigious scholarship and is sponsored by SPIE with contributions from Labsphere, Inc. Tan plans to use his scholarship for tuition to lessen his financial burden so that more time can be spent on his research studies.

Boon-Siew Ooi, Associate Professor at Lehigh University said, "Chee-Loon’s quick ability to acquire new knowledge highly impressed me. He joined my group with minimum background in semiconductor photonics and solid state physics. His diligence in picking up essential knowledge enables him to perform his research in very short time. By the end of his first year with Lehigh, Chee-Loon has begun to develop new theoretical model to analyze broad optical gain semiconductor quantum dot media."

The John Kiel Scholarship is awarded to Miguel Bandres, California Institute of Technology. This is the Society's second largest scholarship and is sponsored by SPIE. Bandres plans to use his scholarship to travel to the SPIE Optics+Photonics meeting. Any award money left will be used to update his computer.

Julio César Gutiérrez Vega, Optics Center Director, Tecnológico de Monterrey, said, "Miguel was my research-assistant in 2003; during that time he proved to be a good and responsible assistant with a deep thought, intellectual skills, and an excellent initiative to learn, and to work independently. Without any doubt, I think he is the best student in the last four years in our Physics program."

The Laser Technology, Engineering and Applications Scholarship is awarded to Can Bayram, Northwestern University. This scholarship is awarded in recognition of the student's scholarly achievement in Laser Technology, Engineering, or Applications. Funds are provided in part by a gift from the former Forum for Military Applications of Directed Energy, and in part by SPIE.

Derek Kopon, The University of Arizona, is awarded the Optical Design and Engineering Scholarship. The Scholarship was established in honor of Bill Price and Warren Smith, both well-respected members of SPIE's technical community. This scholarship is awarded to a full-time undergraduate or graduate student in the field of optical design and engineering.

Volker Sorger is awarded the BACUS Photomask Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to a full-time undergraduate or graduate student in the field of microlithography with an emphasis on optical tooling and/or semiconductor manufacturing technologies. This scholarship is sponsored by BACUS, SPIE's Photomask International Technical Group.

A complete list of winners can be viewed at www.spie.org/x35036.xml.

SPIE is the international optics and photonics society founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 188,000 constituents from 138 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional growth. SPIE annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions, and education programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. In 2008, the Society provided $1.9 million for scholarships, grants, and other activities supporting research and education around the world. For more information, visit spie.org.