The Optical Society Foundation (OSAF) and Coherent, Inc. announced the establishment of an annual Bernard J. Couillaud Prize, a merit-based award to support early-career OSA members who are engaged in ultrafast photonics research and application development.
Each Bernard J. Couillaud award will total $20,500 with up to an additional $5,000 in travel expenses to attend an OSA scientific conference. Deadline for application for the first prize is 08 March, 2019. The inaugural winner will be announced at CLEO: Laser Science to Photonic Applications, San Jose, CA USA, 5-10 May 2019.
The prize honors the extraordinary contributions of laser physics pioneer, Bernard J. Couillaud, who was a former President and CEO of Coherent (1996-2002) and later served as Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors (2002-07). He had joined the firm in 1983 after a three-year visiting fellowship at Stanford University, where he contributed to the development of the Hänsch-Couillaud technique of laser frequency stabilization. At Coherent, he was instrumental in the development of numerous dye, DPSS and Ti:S lasers. A native of France, Couillaud received his Ph.D in laser physics in 1978 at the University of Bordeaux where he helped pioneer continuous wave and pulsed dye lasers. He passed away in 2017.
“To support early-career laser scientists and engineers who are pursuing innovative and impactful work is fundamental to the mission of The Optical Society Foundation,” said Executive Director, Chad Stark. “We all look forward to the naming of the first recipient of this distinguished prize.”
Coherent CEO John Ambroseo said Couillaud “had the rare ability to combine a passion for physics, lasers and photonics with business. He consistently nurtured and encouraged younger people to innovate and develop their own ideas. We believe this prize will honor that legacy.”
https://www.osa.org/en-us/foundation/programs/bernard_j_couillaud_prize
