Skip To Content

Kaminow Outstanding Early-Career Professional Prize

Foundation

Kaminow Outstanding Early-Career Professional Prize

Be recognized for leadership and service to the community.

Application Dates
01 April 2024 - 13 May 2024
Program Prize

Funding to attend FiO+LS, ability to advance to the interview round of the Ambassador Program and a $2000 grant. 

Donate Now

Established in 2012, this prize honors Ivan Kaminow for his many contributions to the field of optics and photonics, as well as his dedication to mentoring and inspiring early career researchers.

Each year, one early career member is selected to acknowledge their volunteer efforts with both Optica and the community.  We seek emerging leaders who dedicate their time to activities, such as student chapters, youth outreach, community service, meetings and publication service.

Recipient will be invited to attend an Optica Leadership meeting or Frontier in Optics (FIO), the recipients can network with 120+ leaders of Optica and learn more about the society’s strategic priorities. Additionally, the recipient receives funding a $2000 grant to attend an Optica topical meeting focused on their research. This prize offers a unique combination of volunteerism through Optica engagement and the enhancement of professional skills. Lastly, the Kaminow recipient will be automatically placed as a finalist for the Optica Ambassadors program. 


Application Information

How To Apply

Applications will be available at apply.optica.org

Important Dates

Opens 01 April 2024
Closes 13 May 2024

Applicant Requirements
  • Be a current early career professional member or recent graduate member
  • Active individual members may apply as long as they have achieved their highest degree in the last seven years
Application Requirements
  • Short answer questions
  • CV/resume
  • Two reference letters

Recipients

2024 WINNER
Guillermo Ezequiel  Sánchez Guerrero
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México
for his dedication to fostering a global community of optics researchers through impactful local science education and outreach.
Victoria Xu
2023 WINNER
Justus C. Ndukaife
Vanderbilt University, USA
for unwavering commitment to teaching, mentoring and community service by fostering the growth and development of students within his local community and in Africa.
2022 WINNER
Sejeong Kim
University of Melbourne, Australia

for her dedication to the Nanophotonics Technical Group and youth outreach in Australia and South Korea.

2021 WINNER
Brandon Buscaino
Infinera Corporation, USA

for his ongoing support for Optica student chapters and public policy initiatives as well as his commitment to advancing the impact of Optica Foundation opportunities.

2020 WINNER
Chaitanya Kumar Suddapalli
ICFO and Radiantis, Spain

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2019 WINNER
Robert Woodward
Macquarie University, Australia

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2018 WINNER
Amol Choudhary
University of Sydney, Australia

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2017 WINNER
Adam J. Fleisher
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2016 WINNER
Rocio Barrega-Varillas
Politecnico di Milano, Italy

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2015 WINNER
Alvaro Casas-Bedoya
University of Sydney, Australia

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2015 WINNER
Antigone Marino
Italian National Research Council, Italy

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2014 WINNER
Arlene Smith
University of Michigan, USA

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2013 WINNER
Arti Agrawal
City University, London, United Kingdom

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2012 WINNER
Giovanni Volpe
Bilkent University, Turkey

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.

2012 WINNER
Laura Waller
University of California Berkeley, USA

for outstanding contributions to Optica and the optics and photonics community as a whole.


Contributors

This fund is sponsored by the Kaminow family, Intel Corporation and personal donations from the community.


About the Endowment

Ivan P. Kaminow was a pioneer who helped revolutionize the telecommunications industry. A Member for 48 years, Ivan received many awards over his career, including the Charles Hard Townes Award, John Tyndall Award and Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Endowment. Ivan was respected among his peers and known for influencing and guiding future innovators in the field of optics and photonics. 

More information on Ivan’s accomplishments can be found here.


2024 Selection Committee

Name Affiliation Country
Alessandra Marie Carmichael Martins Univ Hospital Bonn Dept of Ophthalmology GERMANY
Alvaro Casas-Bedoya University of Sydney AUSTRALIA
Tatevik Chalyan Vrije Universiteit Brussel BELGIUM
Carlos Lopez-Mariscal Underwater Photonics MEXICO
Antigone Marino Italian National Research Council ITALY
Matthew Posner Axonal Networks Inc. CANADA
Robert Ian Woodward Toshiba Europe Ltd. UNITED KINGDOM
Image for keeping the session alive