Bellingham, WA., USA -- In 2020, SPIE welcomes 72 Members as new Fellows of the Society. Fellows are Members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement and for their service to the general optics community and to SPIE in particular. More than 1,500 SPIE Members have become Fellows since the Society's inception in 1955.

New Fellows receive their plaques from the current SPIE President as well as in-person recognition from their peers at the SPIE conference of their choice during the year that they are inducted. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, SPIE has transitioned several in-person conferences to digital forums.

Therefore, we have been celebrating the Fellows virtually as well, via articles such as this one and through our various online platforms. These recognitions are timed to the new Fellows' preferred SPIE conferences, during their digital-forum timeframe. Additionally, each Fellow will be invited to enjoy the traditional in-person recognition at the 2021 event of their choice.

This year, four new Fellows — Céline d'Orgeville, Michael Hoenk, Ian McLean, and Doug Simons — elected to be recognized at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2020.

Céline d'Orgeville, a professor at Australian National University (ANU), is being recognized for her achievements in laser-guide-star adaptive optics (AO) research and development; optics-community engagement; and proactive championship of community-wide equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). D'Orgeville became the AO Group Lead at the ANU Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics' Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre in 2016.

Under her management, the AO Group more than tripled in size, growing from four AO scientists and no PhD students in late 2015, to nine AO scientists and seven PhD students by 2019. Previously, she led the laser development, implementation, and commissioning of the first single sodium laser guide star (LGS) for the Gemini North Observatory commissioned in the early 2000s.

At the same time, she led the effort to implement a 5 LGS system for Gemini South, providing diffraction-limited observations from the ground over a larger field of view. D'Orgeville has also assembled a large international consortium — including Australian, American, and Japanese academic, government, and industry partners — to develop the next (fourth) generation of sodium guide-star lasers for use in astronomy, space surveillance, and laser communication applications.

She participated in the 2016-2025 Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy and is an active participant and leader in EDI events worldwide. She is also active in public outreach, building education and awareness of science, engineering, and astronomy with students of all ages. In 2017, D'Oregeville was  featured in the SPIE Women in Optics planner.

Michael Hoenk, a principal engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is being recognized for his outstanding contributions and innovations in the field of optics and photonics sensors and imaging. An internationally recognized detector scientist and engineer, Hoenk has had a distinguished career in the invention, development, deployment of detectors, sensors and instruments, making significant breakthroughs in the fields of ultraviolet/visible imagers, nano sensors, and micro-instruments.

His co-invention of delta doping technology, for example, and invention of superlattice doping technology has enabled ultra-stable and durable deep ultraviolet and ultraviolet detectors and imagers with world-record quantum efficiency, stability, and durability; he also led the concept of using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) development of visible rejection filters for ultraviolet silicon detectors. His outreach activities include presenting engaging seminars to non-technical audiences and training many early-career engineers and scientists.

An active member of SPIE since 1994, Hoenk is a regular participant at SPIE conferences, presenting many contributed and invited talks, as well as sponsoring early-career scientists and engineers to attend and present at SPIE meetings. In addition, he's held roles as a reviewer for SPIE's Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems(JATIS), as well as guest-editing a JATIS section on high-performance Detectors for Astronomy and Cosmology.

Ian McLean, a professor in UCLA's Department of Physics and Astronomy, is being recognized for his achievements in astronomical instrumentation development, community service, and education. McLean's 1974 PhD thesis included the development of a novel instrument capable of measuring linear and circular polarization across spectral lines (Hα, Hβ) which led to the discovery of polarization signatures across those lines in hot emission line stars, an outcome now known as the McLean Effect. Since then, he has pioneered many astronomical experiments.

While at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh from 1979-1989, for example, he was one of the first to use charge-coupled devices (CCDs) for imaging, spectroscopy, and polarization, and, in the mid-to-late 80s, he played a major role in the development of solid-state imaging devices for infrared astronomy. In 1989, he joined UCLA and established the Infrared Laboratory for Astrophysics with the goal of developing infrared instruments for the 10-m Keck Telescopes in Hawaii, still under construction at that time.

From 1989-1993, working closely with industry in California, McLean championed the development of larger, and more sensitive, digital imaging devices for infrared astronomy. In 2014, McLean commissioned the First Light Infrared TEst CAMera (FLITECAM), an infrared camera and spectrometer for NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA); FLITECAM became a permanent part of SOFIA's instrument suite in 2015. Throughout his career, McLean has remained a dedicated teacher and mentor, and has engaged significantly — as chair, co-chair, session chair, or presenter — with SPIE through the Society's Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conferences for nearly two decades.

Doug Simons, executive director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), is being recognized for his leadership in ground-based astronomical instrumentation, telescopes, and public outreach. Prior to his current role, Simons held multiple positions at the Gemini Observatory, including systems scientist, associate project scientist, and associate director for instrument development, the latter during the design and construction phase of the two Gemini 8-meter telescopes in Hawaii and Chile.

The initial instruments Simons oversaw with his team included a near infrared imager, a multi-object spectrometer, multiple temporary and facility adaptive optics systems, and other infrared instruments. He later served as Gemini director, overseeing all aspects of both Gemini North and South (Hawaii and Chile respectively). In addition, Simons has served as a trusted colleague and mentor to many others in the astronomy community: he encourages publication by his staff and works across the community looking for areas of collaboration particularly among the numerous Hawaii-based observatories.

He is also the primary spokesperson for the Mauna Kea observatories, liaising with Native Hawaiian groups, as well as with local government and press, with a passionate commitment to advancing science in conjunction with mutual understanding and respect for indigenous interests. A frequent participant at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conferences for nearly three decades, Simons is a key advocate of observatory colleagues and support funding for their projects as well.

As noted earlier this year by Jeffrey Puschell, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems engineer and chair of the SPIE Fellows Committee, SPIE Fellows represent the vibrant technical range, diversity, and ethos of the Society, and the SPIE Fellows program proudly honors the innovations that these research, industry, and government scientists create, develop, and implement across the optics and photonics landscape. SPIE invites every constituent in our community to consider their distinguished colleagues, their professionalism, and their work.

The complete list of the 2020 SPIE Fellows is available online, along with a list of all SPIE Fellows, nomination criteria, and the SPIE Fellows nomination form.