AOS W. H. (Beattie) Steel Medal

This Medal is the most prestigious award of the Australian Optical Society. It would normally be presented only to a nominee at an advanced stage of his or her professional career and with a strong and sustained record of authority, enterprise and innovation in the field of optics in Australia. Previous winners of the medal are listed below:

	1995:	Mr Bill James
			James Optics, Melbourne

	1996:	Dr Parameswaran Hariharan
			University of Sydney and CSIRO

	1997:	Professor Jim Piper
			Macquarie University

	1999:	Professor Dan Walls
			University of Auckland

	2004:   Professor Ross McPhedran
		        University of Sydney
		        
        2005:   Professor Brian Orr
                        Macquarie University

        2007:   Professor Kenneth Baldwin
                        The Australian National University

        2008:   Mr Achim Leistner
                        CSIRO

        2009:   Professor John Love
                        The Australian National University
			

Nominations for the next AOS Medal should include brief personal details and a curriculum vitae emphasising the main contributions made by the nominee to Australian optics. Two letters of recommendation should also be provided. Nominations may be made either by or on behalf of any eligible candidate. The selection panel reserves the option to seek additional information about candidates for the award.

It is hoped that the person selected to receive the medal will be able to do so at the next AOS Conference.

The closing date for nominations is 31 March each year.

The AOS Geoff Opat Early Career Researchers Prize

This Prize recognizes an outstanding early career researcher for her/his contribution to the field of optics. The prize is $1500, awarded annually, and includes an invitation to give an extended presentation at the annual AOS conference. The winner of this prize will also write an article for AOS News.

An application consists of a one-page description of the researcher’s career and research since completing the PhD. The one-page description should present the research in an accessible way to readers within optics, but outside the specific area of the applicant, and should convey the researcher’s approach to her/his research, rather than simply providing a list of achievements. A list of the applicant’s refereed journal or conference publications in the past 5 years should be attached separately. Publications must be accepted, not just submitted, and must include acceptance dates for any not yet published. Two confidential references are required for each application, one from the direct supervisor and one from an individual familiar with the applicant’s research, but outside the applicant’s institution. In each reference, the referees are asked to address the criteria for the award listed below. (Applicants should provide contact details for the referees in their applications, and request that the referees send their references directly to the AOS Secretary.)

The Prize is judged by a committee appointed by the AOS Council. Applicants must be members of AOS. The winner of the prize would be expected to present a talk at the AOS meeting at the end of that year. The award need not be made in a given year, if the Prize Committee so chooses.

Criteria for the award

• Quality of the applicant’s research
• Degree of independence shown in research
• Evidence of applicant’s contribution to the field of Optics

*Early Career Researchers are defined for this purpose as being within 5 years of completion of their PhD (as defined by graduation date). If there are reasons for a career delay (such as family responsibilities) then these should be explained in an addendum to the application, and certified by an appropriate person such as the direct supervisor.

Previous winners of the AOS Geoff Opat Early Career Researcher Prize are:

        2009:   Dr Ilya Shadrivov
                        The Australian National University

AOS Postgraduate Student Prize

The Australian Optical Society wishes to encourage participation in national and international conferences by high-quality postgraduate students, and thus the Society has instituted the Australian Optical Society Prograduate Student Prize, which is a grant for conference travel valued upto $1500. Up to one award will be made in each year.

Previous winners of the Prize have been:

	1993:        Duncan Butler
                         School of Physics, University of Melbourne
        
        1995:        David Balaic
                         School of Physics, University of Melbourne

        1997:        Tanyo Monro
                         School of Physics, University of Sydney
                 
        1998:        Marlies Fiese
                         University of Queensland
                     and
                     Justin Blows
                         Maquarie University

        1999:        Daniel Day
                         Optoelectronic Imaging Group, Victoria University

        2000:        Saiedeh Saghafi
                         Macquarie University

        2001:        Winfried Hensinger
                         Physics, University of Queensland

        2002:        Luke Maquire
                         School of Physics, University of Melbourne

        2003:        Joseph Hope
                         Australian National University
  
        2004:        Ilya Shadrivov
                         Australian National University
                     		and
                     Thomas White
                         CUDOS, Sydney University
                         
        2005:        Aidan Brooks
        		 Adelaide University
        
        2006:	     Kristy C. Vernon
        		 QUT

        2007:        Felicity Cox
                         University of Sydney

        2008:        Michael Jones
                         Queensland University of Technology

        2009:        Stephen Christopher Warren-Smith
                         University of Adelaide

An applicant and his/her supervisor must be: (1) a member of the Australian Optical Society, (2) enrolled in a postgraduate research degree, with a project in an optically related area. (If there is more that one supervisor, at least one must be a member of the AOS.) Non-members of the AOS may join the Society concurrently with their application for the prize. (Application forms are available in AOS News, or may be obtained from the Treasurer or Secretary). The prize cannot be awarded more than once to any individual.

An applicant must be sufficiently advanced in the research project to have obtained significant results in optics or a related area, such that those results are suitable for presentation at a proposed conference that falls in the twelve month period commencing 1 December. It is expected that the presentation at the proposed conference would take the form of a research paper, invited or contributed, oral or poster. The successful applicant will be expected to write a summary of the conference for AOS News.

Preference will be given in the selection procedures to applicants who intend to use the prize to attend and present their research results at a major conference outside Australia and New Zealand.

It is not essential that the results to be presented should already have been accepted for presentation at the proposed conference at the time of application, but no payment of the prize will be made until evidence of such acceptance is provided to the Society. Applicants are encouraged to provide tangible evidence of the results likely to be presented at the proposed conference (for example, in the form of an outline of a paper that has been accepted or submitted or is being prepared for that conference) and to make clear the benefits that would arise from their attendance at that conference.

The AOS award is not intended to cover the full cost of the applicant's attendance at the proposed conference. Wherever possible, applicants should identify means by which their research group and/or institution is likely to make a substantial contribution to their travel costs. Evidence of any such supplementary support should be provided (for example, by an undertaking in the supervisor's letter of recommendation). However, students with no identifiable supplementary travel support will not be disadvantaged in the selection process.

Since the research supervisor's report is a major factor in the assessment process, supervisors should be prepared to rank their students against the selection criteria if contacted by the selection committee.

Application Details

• Curriculum vitae;
• List of publications, conference papers, theses, reports, etc.;
• Details of postgraduate research project;
• Details of proposed conference (including its status and relevance to optics);
• Details of participation in the conference (nature of contribution as specified above);
• Details of predicted expenses, as well as other (probable or confirmed) sources of funding for attendance at the conference;
• Reports from the candidate's research supervisor and one other referee;
• Statement that the candidate is a citizen or permanent resident of Australia;
• Statement of agreement to write a summary of the conference for AOS News.

AOS Technical Optics Award

This award recognises those who have made a significant achievement in technical optics, not necessarily in a manner manifested by an extensive academic record or a traditional academic reputation. The work for which the award is made must have been carried out principally in Australia.

Applications are encouraged from, but not restricted to, young optical workers.

The winner will receive a prize consisting of $300 cash, one year's free membership of AOS, and an invitation to attend the AOS conference and make an oral presentation of his or her work.

Previous winners of the Prize have been:

     1995:		Mr Ron Bulla
		           CSIRO Applied Physics

     1997:		Chris Freund
		           CSIRO Telecommunications and Industrial Physics.

     2000:		Alex Boiko

     2004		Dr Yabai He
		           Macquarie University

Nominations are now invited from (or on behalf of) suitable candidates, which will be presented at the next AOS Conference.

AOS Warsash Science Communication Prize in Optics

A submission consists of a 300-word summary of the published research, written in the style of a New Scientist article or similar, explaining the significance of the applicant’s research project to a casual reader outside the field. The submission may include up to 2 figures which may be in colour or black and white, and should also include a copy of the published research paper(s) with evidence that it is accepted for publication. Applicants should provide a short statement explaining their contribution to the published paper, signed by the applicant and her/his supervisor.

Applicants must agree that their submissions may be published in AOS News at the discretion of the AOS News Editor, and/or placed on the AOS Website, with author and institution attribution.

Prize is judged by a committee appointed by the AOS council, which includes a representative of Warsash.

Criteria for the award of the Prize are:

• High quality research in optics or its applications
• Clarity of explanation
• Suitability of the figures to the overall summary
• Ability to seize and sustain the reader's interest
• The student's research has been accepted for publication in a refereed journal