Trojan Technologies has won first place in the corporate division of Enabled by Optics, a new contest designed by the Optical Society (OSA) to raise public awareness of the importance of optics and photonic technologies. The contest, which also has a student division, highlights how optics-driven technology affects everyday life and often serves the greater public good. While each corporate entity submitted a white paper, each student contestant created a video demonstrating how optics is crucial to the functioning of a commonly used product. Entries were judged by a panel of experts, including members of OSA's corporate associates committee, which includes optics researchers and business leaders. Trojan Technologies’ winning entry was a water disinfection solution using environmentally responsible, cost-effective ultraviolet (UV) light as an alternative to chemicals. The use of UV disinfection by municipalities around the world could prevent the spread of harmful organisms in the water supply and destroy harmful contaminants. “It is a great honor to be the winner of the OSA Enabled by Optics contest,” said Trojan Technologies President Marvin DeVries. "It is a tribute to the enabling power of optics that we can help our customers meet their water-quality objectives with innovative, technology-based and eco-efficient solutions that reduce and recover costs, energy, resources and space.” The company’s prize includes an extensive outreach campaign by OSA featuring the water-treatment system, along with a video showcasing the technology and the experiences customers have had with it. Sarah Jaye Olivia, first-place winner in the student division, made a video called “Black and White,” which describes a laser bar-code scanner. A graduate student at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, Olivia will receive a prize of $500. Honorable mention was awarded to Eyejusters of Oxford, England, for its SlideLens adjustable-lens technology used in producing high-quality, affordable eyeglasses to support vision projects in the developing world. All winners and contest entrants receiving honorable mention will be recognized at the society’s annual meeting, Frontiers in Optics, on Oct. 8 in Orlando, Fla. Photonics Media, the campaign's media sponsor, will provide ongoing support and comprehensive worldwide coverage of the winning technologies. "The next phase of this campaign is to increase public awareness by using real-life examples of how optics enables everyday technologies,” said OSA CEO Elizabeth Rogan. For more information, visit: www.osa.org