SAN DIEGO, August 2 -- SPIE installed 27 new Fellows at its 46th Annual Meeting. Those honored as Fellows are distinguished individuals who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in optics and optoelectronics. In addition, they are recognized for their service to the general optics community and to SPIE in particular. Also receiving accolades were 19 of the 70 scholarship winners who will be sharing $220,000 in grants and scholarships. SPIE's scholarships and grants program is designed to recognize, assist and encourage students with outstanding potential for long-range contribution to the field of optics. Scott Walker, SPIE director of corporate relations noted that exhibit attendance was solid with numbers of attendees meeting projections. Walker said that exhibitors that he talked to said that they could see no quantifiable effects of a lagging economy. And, judging by exhibit traffic and interest, neither did the attendees. Another upbeat note was reports from researchers and applied engineering personnel attending short courses and conferences that funding for projects was either remaining steady or in many cases, increased.