SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, recognized the top innovations in new optics and photonics products at the 2024 Prism Awards held at Photonics West on Jan. 31. The gala event marked the Prism Awards’ 16th anniversary. The annual ceremony honored a range of established and emerging companies applying groundbreaking and creative solutions to critical problems in areas such as augmented and virtual reality, sensors, lasers, quantum technology, and biomedical optics solutions. Finalists and winners were selected by a panel of international judges who leveraged their knowledge and acumen from across the technology commercialization and funding sectors. The distinguished judges' roster included the FDA's Zane Arp, Nextcorps Luminate’s Damon Diehl, AXA XL’s Simi George, BOS Photonics’ Bo Gu, Coherent’s Qiongying Hu, Photon Fund’s Zhenlin Li, Teledyne Princeton Instruments' Jason McClure, Technology Scotland’s Alison McLeod, Notal Vision’s Nishant Mohan, ICFO’s Robert Sewell, Orbis Diagnostics’ Cather Simpson, CERES Technology Advisors’ Linda Smith, TOPTICA’s Mark A. Tolbert, and Nanovation SARL’s Ferechteh Teherani. The winners of the 2024 Prism Awards were recognized for photonics innovations on Jan. 31 during a ceremony at Photonics West. Courtesy of Jake Saltzman, Photonics Media. “By creating products powered by photonics and bringing those products to market, all these companies — the finalists as well as tonight’s winners — are impacting our lives in truly transformative ways,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. “And, with the addition of the Catalyst Award, we are also recognizing companies in our community doing tremendous engagement and outreach work that improves our society through their diversity and sustainability programs.” Below is the complete list of the 2024 SPIE Prism Award categories, the winners, and their winning products: AR VR MR Porotech, DPT (DynamicPixelTuning) Autonomy ANELLO Photonics, SiPhOGTM (Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope) Biomedical JenLab GmbH, MPTcompact: Multiphoton Tomograph with Femtosecond Fiber Laser Cameras and Imaging Thorlabs, Inc., Prelude Functional Imaging Microscope Lasers EKSPLA, FemtoLux 30 Quantum Tech Qunnect, QU-APC: Auto Polarization Compensator Sensors Scantinel Photonics GmbH, Scantinel X-One Software Frenel Imaging, TPiCore Test and Measurement Persistence Data Mining, Inc., Soilytics In addition to the regular slate of application-focused awards, SPIE showcased the inaugural SPIE Catalyst Award. The new recognition honors for-profit companies with specific social or environmentally focused programs that have had significant positive impact, either within their workplace, on society at large, or on the environment. The winner of the first-ever SPIE Catalyst Award is Intel Corporation with their innovative and inclusive Semiconductor Workforce Development programs: Quick Start, the semiconductor-technician-training program, and the Returnships career-returning program.
