Celebrating International Women's Day 2019

We celebrated International Women's Day by recognizing and honoring 34 women who have won OSA Awards. These women have made remarkable contributions to the optics and photonics community. We compiled a collection from our portfolio of the top-cited papers that these award winners have published in our journals and conference proceedings.


Hatice Altug

Adolph Lomb Medal (2012). For breakthrough contributions on integrated optical nano-biosensor and nanospectroscopy technologies based on nanoplasmonics, nanofluidics, and novel nanofabrication.


Jean M. Bennett

David Richardson Medal (1990). For her sustained contributions to the studies of optical surfaces that have provided the optics community with a more thorough understanding of optical surface phenomenology and a meticulous methodology for surface characterization.


Connie J. Chang-Hasnain

Nick Holonyak Jr. Award (2007). For contributions to the control of diode lasers: vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays, injection locking and slow light.


Anna Consortini

Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award (2018). For her outstanding dedication to promoting optics at an international level with very valuable leadership in institutions and scientific societies like ICO (International Commission for Optics), ICTP, OSA, and SIOF.


Jennifer Dionne

Adolph Lomb Medal (2016). For revealing nanoscopic optical phenomena in metal optics.


Rebekah A. Drezek

Adolph Lomb Medal (2009). For innovative research combining biophotonics, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering to produce optical molecular-imaging technologies that are changing the way physicians screen, detect, treat, and monitor cancer in vivo.


Ann E. Elsner

Edwin H. Land Medal (2018). For contributions to the fields of ophthalmic instrumentation and vision science with innovative imaging technologies, state-of-the-art psychophysical research and entrepreneurial ventures.


Ulrike Fuchs

Kevin P. Thompson Optical Design Innovator Award (2018). For interlinking aspects of optical design, tolerancing, metrology and manufacturing for aspherics to enable their usage as reasonable choice in optical systems.


Judith A. Grenko

Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award (2000). For the development of high-performance integrated multiple-quantum-well electro-absorption modulated distributed-feedback lasers, and associated epitaxial growth, fabrication, and characterization methodologies for high reproducible manufacture.

  • L. J. P. Ketelsen, J. E. Johnson, D. J. Muehlner, M. Dautartas, J. V. Gates, M. A. Cappuzzo, J. M. Geary, J. A. Grenko, J. M. Vandenberg, S. K. Sputz, M. W. Focht, E. J. Laskowski, L. T. Gomez, K. G. Glogovsky, C. L. Reynolds, S. N. G. Chu, W. A. Gault, M. S. Hybertsen, and J. L. Zilko, "Electro-Absorption Modulated 1.55 μm Wavelength Selectable DFB Array using Hybrid Integration," in Optical Fiber Communication Conference and the International Conference on Integrated Optics and Optical Fiber Communication, OSA Technical Digest Series (Optical Publishing Group, 1999), paper PD40.
  • L. J. P. Ketelsen, J. A. Grenko, S. K. Sputz, E. D. Isaacs, J. M. Vandenberg, J. E. Johnson, S. N. G. Chu, M. S. Hybertsen, K. Evans-Lutterodt, D. C. Sutryn, M. Geva, R. W. Glew, C. J. Pinzone, L. S. Cheng, W. A. Asous, P. Parayanthal, R. People, M. A. Alam, and R. L. Hartman, "Wavelength stability, performance, and future trends for electroabsorption-modulated sources," in Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, D. Scifres and A. Weiner, eds., (Optical Publishing Group, 1998), paper CWC3.


Naomi J. Halas

R. W. Wood Prize (2015). By introducing nanoparticles with tunable optical resonances and the concept of Plasmon Hybridization to explain their properties, Halas and Nordlander have revolutionized our understanding of optical properties of metallic nanostructures.


Paula R. L. Heron

Archie Mahan Prize (2000). With Lillian C. McDermott, for the relevance of her article to the important dialogue concerning science education, and the accessibility to a general readership through use of clear, well-illustrated examples.


Elizabeth M.C. Hillman

Adolph Lomb Medal (2011). For pioneering developments in biomedical optics, including laminar optical tomography and dynamic contrast enhanced molecular imaging.


Heidi Hofer

Archie Mahan Prize (2004). Together with David R. Williams, for revealing the wide array of remarkable ways that eyes auto calibrate, through clearly explained, illustrated examples that include tests that readers can perform with their own eyes in their article "The Eye's Mechanisms for Autocalibration".


Janice A. Hudgings

Esther Hoffman Beller Medal (2004). For innovative teaching methods and involving undergraduate physics and engineering students in original, state-of-the-art, publishable research in optics and solid state physics.


Marilyn E. Jacox

Ellis R. Lippincott Award (1989). For seminal contributions in matrix-isolation spectroscopy research.


Dorthea Jameson

Edgar D. Tillyer Award (1982). In recognition of their contibutions to our understanding of visual processes.


Mary Lou Jepsen

Edwin H. Land Medal (2011). For her visionary entrepreneurial and technical leadership of the One Laptop Per Child program to develop a rugged, low-cost educational computer for developing countries.


Ursula Keller

Charles Hard Townes Award (2015). For seminal contributions in the fields of octave-spanning lasers, frequency comb technology, and high repetition-rate ultrafast semiconductor disc lasers.

Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize (2008). For seminal contributions to the development and application of ultrafast lasers and notably pioneering work on semiconductor saturable absorber mode-locking.


Michal Lipson

R. W. Wood Prize (2017). For pioneering research contributions in silicon photonics.


Laura Na Liu

Adolph Lomb Medal (2019). For seminal contributions to nano-optics, three-dimensional optical metamaterials, as well as interdisciplinary scientific work regarding the development of DNA nanotechnology-based dynamic plasmonics.


Susana Marcos

Adolph Lomb Medal (2002). For her contributions to our knowledge of the optics of the eye and the interactions of light with the retina.


Lillian C. McDermott

Archie Mahan Prize (2000). With Paula R. L. Heron, for the relevance of her article to the important dialogue concerning science education, and the accessibility to a general readership through use of clear, well-illustrated examples.


Suzanne P. McKee

Edgar D. Tillyer Award (2014). For contributions to fundamental understanding of visual motion and of normal and abnormal human stereo vision, revealing the limits and character of brain mechanisms responsible for the perception of depth.


Margaret M. Murnane

Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize (2017). For pioneering and sustained contributions to ultrafast science ranging from femtosecond lasers to soft x-ray high-harmonic generation to attosecond studies of atoms, molecules and surfaces.

R. W. Wood Prize (2010). For critical advances in the science and technology of high harmonics generation, with particular relevance to sub-femtosecond pulse generation and related attosecond-scale physics.


Kyle J. Myers

Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award (2006). For publication of Foundations of Image Science, co-authored with Harrison H. Barrett.


Ellen Ochoa

Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award (2002). In recognition of her pioneering status as the first Hispanic woman astronaut, her unstinting efforts to serve as a positive role model for women in general, and Hispanic women in particular, and her generous contributions of time to the optics community.


Barbara A. Paldus

Adolph Lomb Medal (2001). For developments making the new absorption technique of cavity ringdown spectroscopy an ultrasensitive absolute method for trace analysis of gas-phase species.


Weilin Pan

Allen Prize (2003). For measurements in atmospheric temperatures above the North and South Poles using a novel lidar system.


Vivianne Smith Pokorny

Edgar D. Tillyer Award (1990). For contributions to basic and applied vision research, particularly in the areas of cone fundamentals, defective color vision, and flicker.


Gertrude Rand

Edgar D. Tillyer Award (1959). For accomplishments and scientific standing in the field of visual physiology.


Rebecca Richards-Kortum

Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award (2014). For exceptional contributions to advancing the applications of optics in disease diagnosis and inspiring work in disseminating low-cost health technologies to the developing world.


Jannick P. Rolland

David Richardson Medal (2014). For visionary contributions and leadership in optical design and engineering, enabling noninvasive, optical biopsy.


Charlotte Moore Sitterly

William F. Meggers Award (1972). For seminal contributions to atomic spectroscopy, including extensive studies of the Sun, and tables of atomic spectra and energy levels.


Louise L. Sloan

William F. Meggers Award (1971). For her many distinguished accomplishments in the field of vision.