University labs, Edmund Optics may have a grant with your name on it. At the CLEO/QELS 2010 exhibition this week, product manager David Henz discussed the company's University Grant program. Edmund Optics has a wide range of products on display this week at CLEO/QELS 2010. Photonics Media photo by Laura S. Marshall. To support post-secondary science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, Henz said, the company is offering three grants of product donations to nonprofit US colleges and universities. The top grant award will be $10,000 in products, from EO optics, Techspec Imaging Lenses and Techspec Mechanics. The second award will be $7500 in products; the third will be $5000 in products. Professors, lab managers, teaching assistants and even students in higher education optics programs are eligible to apply; multiple entries are welcome and even encouraged, according to the company. Criteria for selection include the application of the optics in the program and the innovative ways in which the optics will be used in the research setting. Additional factors, including the number of students and courses involved in the program, also will be considered. The program not only helps educational programs, Henz said, but it also gives Edmund a closer look at the needs of research labs. "As a product manager, when I visit universities, I learn what they're doing and what they need," he added. "At the end of the day, they're the ones changing science." Prospective applicants can find more information and applications here; applications must be received by June 30. The awards will be announced on Oct. 1. Laura S. Marshall laura.marshall@photonics.com