As SPIE approaches its 50th anniversary, the society has reportedly taken measures to increase the depth and horizon of its awards, scholarships, grants and fellowships.

According to Osuk Kwon, chairman of the awards committee and director of international business for Space Imaging in Denver, an ad hoc advisory committee on scholarships, awards and sponsorships has been put in place to further this mission. "We have begun to promote more endowments from industries, friends and families to honor and celebrate the lifetime works and contributions of their colleagues and loved ones," he said.

New awards

With approval from the SPIE board, the committee recently announced two new awards. The first, the Frits Zernike award for microlithography, is sponsored by ASML Holding NV of Veldhoven, the Netherlands, Canon Inc. of Tokyo and Cymer Inc. of San Diego and named for the winner of the 1953 Nobel Prize in physics. It is given for outstanding accomplishments in microlithographic technology, especially those furthering the development of semiconductor lithographic imaging.

The 2004 recipient was Burn J. Lin, head of the Micro-Patterning Div. at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Hsinchu. According to Kwon, Lin was among the first researchers to report numerous developments in optical lithography, including those related to deep-UV, multilayer resist systems, two-dimensional partial coherent imaging, analysis of vibration in optical imaging and the demonstration of effects of mask antireflection coating.

The second is the G.G. Stokes award for lifetime achievement in the field of optical polarization. The 2004 recipient was R. Clark Jones, formerly of Polaroid Corp., who died earlier this year. He was known for an important series of papers published between 1941 and 1956 that introduced Jones calculus, a mathematical method for dealing with and understanding polarized light, Kwon said. The award is sponsored by ITT Industries Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., Hinds Instruments Inc. of Hillsboro, Ore., and L-3 Communications of New York, with additional support from Russell Chipman of the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Kwon said that the SPIE board recently voted to increase the honoraria to $10,000 for the Gold Medal and to $2000 for all other awards. He estimated that the society donates more than $220,000 in scholarships and grants to students with outstanding potential for long-range contributions to the optics and photonics fields.

New members also have been inducted as fellows, reflecting the emerging technologies and changing demographics. He stressed that it is not too late to nominate someone for next year's awards. The application deadline is in early October.