Institute of Physics Names Medal Recipient in Photonics

10 July 2015—The Institute of Physics (IOP) has announced the recipients of its 2015 annual awards for contributions to physics, and the top award is in the photonics sector. OSA Fellow Eli Yablonovitch at the University of California, Berkeley (USA) has received the Isaac Newton Medal and Prize, IOP’s highest accolade, for “visionary and foundational contributions to photonic nanostructures.” Yablonovitch’s work in photonic crystals led to new research in numerous areas, including alternative semiconductor-type materials for light, quantum computing, nanoscale imaging and sensing, photovoltaics and many others.

IOP also announced this week the 2015 Innovation Awards to several companies for physics-based innovation in the United Kingdom. Laser developer M Sqaured Lasers in Glasgow, Scotland, won an Innovation Award for its development of SolsTiS, a compact, fully automated laser toolkit with unprecedented tuning range, high power, ultra-narrow line width and low noise.

Another company, Tracerco (Billingham, England), received an Innovation Award for its Discovery high-resolution imaging system that uses gamma-ray tomography for harsh environment inspection of sub-sea oil and gas pipelines. The recipients will receive their awards at a ceremony on 5 November in London.