Application Information

How To Apply

Applications will be available at apply.optica.org

Important Dates

Opens 08 January 2023
Closes 08 March 2023

Applicant Requirements

• Must be an Optica member.
• Must be an early-career professional (1-5 years post highest degree) pursuing a compelling project that has a meaningful global impact.
• Demonstrate the unique nature and global reach of the project.
• Conducting research in the areas of quantum optics.
  • Examples of some, but not all, various eligible disciplines within quantum optics: optical systems, metrology, cryptography and keys, computing, single-photon emitters, low-noise photodetectors, optical traps, cold atoms.

Program requirements recognize and exclude career breaks from career timelines (e.g., eldercare; maternity or paternity leave). 

Application Requirements

• Applicant name, institution and contact information
• Applicant CV or resume - no more than four (4) pages
• One-page executive summary detailing your background in quantum, proposed project and intended outcomes
• Proposal outlining the points below - no more than two (2) pages
  • Current research
  • Intended/expected goals of research
  • Potential impact of research within Quantum Optics discipline
  • Potential global impact
• Example of published work
• Two (2) references

If you have questions, please email apply@optica.org. 

Contributors

About the Endowment

The prize honors the extraordinary contributions of Theodor W. Hänsch, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. A native of Germany, Hänsch earned his Ph.D. in Laser Physics from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg and, soon after, became a professor at Stanford University. In 1986, he was awarded the Albert A. Michelson Medal from the Franklin Institute and chose to return to Germany as to direct the Max Planck Institute, where he continues to serve as Director as well as a Carl Friedrich von Siemens Professor at the Ludwig Maximilians University.

Theodor Hänsch is known for his seminal contributions in the field of laser spectroscopy. In 2001, he and two of his PhDs began Menlo Systems as a spin-off of the Max-Plack Institute and, in 2005, he shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique. Throughout his career, he has received many awards, including Optica's William F. Meggers Award and Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize. He has given more than a lifetime’s worth of dedication and achievements to physics, lasers and photonics. He remains an inspiration to everyone who calls him friend, colleague, boss or mentor.