
Optica will recognize newly elected Fellow Members and present the 2021 and 2023 Herbert Walther Awards during the EQEC Plenary Talk and Award Ceremony on Tuesday, 27 June.
The Herbert Walther Award commemorates Max Planck Institute of Quantum Physics Professor Herbert Walther’s groundbreaking innovations in quantum optics and atomic physics, as well as other wide-ranging contributions to the scientific community. The Award, administered jointly by Optica and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG), recognizes distinguished contributions in quantum optics and atomic physics as well as leadership in the international scientific community.
2023 RECIPIENT

Rainer Blatt
University of Innsbruck, Austria
For outstanding contributions to quantum optics, quantum information science, especially quantum computing and simulation, as well as precision measurements with trapped ions; and for scientific leadership promoting quantum information and nurturing young scientists.
2021 Recipient

Wolfgang Peter Schleich
Universität Ulm, Germany
For pioneering contributions to topics including gyroscopes and general relativity, Schleich-Wheeler oscillations, quantum state engineering, quantum optics in phase space, Gauss-sum factorization and wave packet dynamics and the red shift controversy resolution in atom interferometry.
Bernard J. Couillaud Prize
The Optica Foundation and Coherent, Inc. partnered to create the Bernard J. Couillaud Prize which provides the opportunity for an early career professional to pursue a compelling and innovative project that has the potential to make a meaningful and positive impact on the science and applications of ultrafast lasers. The 2023 recipient is Edoardo Vicentini, CIC nanoGUNE, Spain.
Optica Fellows
Fellows are Optica members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics through distinguished contributions to education, research, engineering, business and society.
2023 Optica Fellows to be recognized.
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Pierre-Francois Brevet, Institut Lumière Matière, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, France
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Lionel Canioni, Universite de Bordeaux, France
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Malgorzata Kujawinska, Politechnika Warszawska, Poland
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Ju Han Lee, University of Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Mangirdas Malinauskas, Laser Research Center at Vilnius University, Lithuania
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Edik Rafailov, Aston University, UK
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Jayanta Sahu, University of Southampton, UK
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Guohai Situ, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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Kenneth Kin-Yip Wong, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Junjie Yao, Duke University, USA