Université Laval Announces Search for Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurophotonics

Université Laval is seeking a world-class researcher to fill the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurophotonics and to occupy a tenured professor position. An amount of 10M$ will be provided by the Canadian government to this world leader to develop an ambitious research program in neuroscience and photonics. This amount will be matched by other contributions, both public and  private.

The CERC chair-holder is expected to play a role of catalyst between neuroscientists and physicists and lead the way in the design and use of novel enabling technologies for the study and treatment of diseases of the nervous system. He will therefore have a track record at bridging between these disciplines and will have demonstrated abilities to lead major networking initiatives at the national and international levels.

The CERC program is Canada’s most prestigious research funding program and Université Laval is proud to have received one of 11 chairs of this contest. This confirms its position as world leader in
optics, photonics and neurophotonics, and it brings new energy to face the biggest challenge addressed by modern science and technology: to unravel the mysteries of the brain.

The development of neurophysics and neuroscience is one of the main priorities of Université Laval. The Neurophotonics Center, which will host the candidate has already received more than 70M$ for its
infrastructures and is planning further developments estimated to 80M$.

For more information see http://neurophotonics.ca/documents/Call%20for%20applications%20CERC_EN_Short.pdf.

The Optical Society Names Brian C. Wilson Winner of Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award

Brian Wilson, PhD, co-Chair of the Biophotonics for Life Worldwide Consortium, has been awarded the Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award by the Optical Society.  Please join us in congratulating Dr. Wilson on this deserved recognition of his contributions to the field, and to the community, of biophtonics.  See the press release below:

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2013– The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to announce that Brian C. Wilson of the University of Toronto, Canada is one of 17 recipients of its prestigious awards and medals. Wilson is the inaugural winner of the new Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award for his sustained contributions to the field of biophotonics, spanning more than 30 years and encompassing outstanding research, technology development, clinical translation and training and education, in the areas of light dosimetry, photodynamic therapy, fluorescence and Raman endoscopy, microscopy and nanophotonics.

“This year’s awardees have made tremendous strides in furthering the science and technology of light and deserve every accolade,” said OSA President Donna Strickland. “OSA is proud to honor Brian and all of the committed individuals for their leadership and innovation in the field of optics around the world.”

Established in 2012, the Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award recognizes individuals for their innovative and influential contributions to the field of biophotonics, regardless of their career stage. The scope of the award encompasses all areas of biophotonics ranging from fundamental optics discoveries in biology to development of new theoretical frameworks and novel instrumentation to clinical translational research for biomedicine.

Although the criterion for each OSA award differs, the rigorous selection process is the same. A nomination form is submitted with a brief citation summarizing the nominee’s accomplishments with a particular emphasis on those that make him or her a candidate for the award, a one-page narrative on the most significant events in the candidate’s career, curriculum vitae and four letters of reference for the candidate. The OSA Board of Directors appoints a committee to oversee each award or medal selection process. The committee is responsible for the evaluation of each nominee and the selection of the individual or group that is most deserving of the award. Finally, the committee’s selection is presented to the OSA Awards Committee and Board of Directors for their review and final approval.

More information is available on the Awards and Grants section of OSA’s website.

About OSA

Uniting more than 180,000 professionals from 175 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.

Dennis Matthews Elected SPIE Fellow

Dennis Matthews, PhD, co-chair of the Biophotonics4Life Worldwide Consortium, has been promoted to the rank of Fellow of SPIE, the international society of optics and photonics.  Fellows are "SPIE Members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement, for their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE in particular."  Dr. Matthews and 28 other new Fellows were honored at an award ceremony luncheon during Photonics West attended by 2,000 SPIE members.

Dr. Matthews is professor emeritus at the University of California Davis, director of the NSF Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology, and associate director for biomedical technology for the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Davis.  He is the principal investigator on a number of grants including the NSF Ecosystem for Biophotonics, and is site director of the Center for Biophotonics Sensors and Systems, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.  A former program and division leader at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he is responsible for developing new biotechnology programs for the lab.

Credited with inventing the x-ray laser at LLNL, Dr. Matthews' career has included an ongoing interest in the translation and commercialization of new physical science and engineering technologies to address grand challenges in medicine and life sciences.

Dr. Matthews is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Society of Photo an Industrial Engineers, and the Optical Society of America.  He is the author of more than 275 publications, holds 30 patents, and is the co-editor or the Journal of Biophotonics.

Dennis Matthews: The path to commercialization for medical devices

For university and government labs, biophotonic breakthroughs face many hurdles before they can be made widely available.

Dr. Dennis Matthews, Director of the NSF Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology, talks about the challenges of bringing university created technology into the marketplace in this video from SPIE:

http://spie.org/x90929.xml                                     read more. . .

NRC Releases Update to Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century

The National Research Council of the National Academies released a new report in August updating the 1998 "Harnessing Light" study. The report, called "Harnessing Light: Capitalizing on Optical Science Trends and Challenges for Future Research", was supported by funding from DARPA, NSF, NIST, ARO, DOE, AFOSR, NRC, OSA and SPIE.

Since the 1998 report, enormous progress has been made in the areas of optical technologies for solid-state lighting, advanced manufacturing, energy, fiber-optic telecommunications, defense, health and medicine, advanced photonic measurements and applications, and information technology. The new report assesses the current state of optics and photonics from a market perspective, prioritizes a set of grand challenges to address technological gaps, and recommends actions for future development. Chapters 2, 6, and 8 are of particular interest to the biophotonics community.

The report was released at the SPIE Optics and Photonics meeting on August 15, 2012, in San Diego, CA.  For more information and a link to a report summary and the full report, go to www.opticsandphotonics.org.

Generous scholarships for Russian science students to study abroad.

In May's issue of the journal Nature (485, 295 (17 May 2012) doi:10.1038/485295a), Quirin Shiermeier reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely approval of a five billion ruble Global Education Program that would pay for around two thousand Russian students annually to study science abroad at top international universities. The program is intended to spur international collaboration as well as increase the number of Russian students in the sciences. In exchange for the opportunity to study at one of the world's top 300 institutions, students agree to return to Russia to work post-graduation.

The program will be funded for three years, initially, with the possibility of renewal upon review.  Several other countries have successfully tried similar initiatives, including China, Kazakhstan, and Brazil.

Read the full article here.

3rd International Congress on Biophotonics starts Tuesday, June 19 in Jena, Germany

The 3^rd International Congress on Biophotonics (ICOB 2012) brings together a broad biophotonics community, from medical and biological end users to industry decision makers to researchers developing new techniques and systems.  The goal is to foster interdisciplinary networking and share information among key individuals to increase success in biophotonics. 

This year’s topics include applications like oncology, infectious diseases, and ophthalmology crossing technology domains like point-of-care diagnosis, functional and multimodal imaging, and key enabling biophotonics technologies.  ICOB 2012 also has an eye on the future with sessions, discussions and forums for sharing ideas regarding biophotonics education and funding.

Concluding on June 21, this three-day event takes place at the Zeiss Planetarium, which is the oldest planetarium in the world.  For more information see the ICOB 2012website.