OSA and SPIE Co-Sponsor Best Poster Awards at Annual NSBP/NSHP Meeting

WASHINGTON, March 15 -- Peter Delfyett (Univ. of Central Florida, CREOL) and Anthony Johnson (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) served as Best Poster Presentation judges on behalf of OSA and SPIE at the Joint Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists, February 21-25, 2007 in Boston. The following awards were presented at the Saturday evening banquet:

Undergraduate (OSA) Poster; First Prize ($400 + student membership) -- Manisha L. Turner, Norfolk State University, "Unveiling the Secrets of Archimedes."

Undergraduate (OSA) Poster; Second Prize ($200 + student membership) -- Margaret S. Martei, Colby College, "An Injection-Locked Diode Laser for Cold Rydberg Atom Experiments."

Graduate (SPIE) Poster, First Prize ($400 + student membership) -- Valencia S. Johnson, Rutgers University, "Polymer/Metal Sulfide Coated Hollow Waveguides for Delivery of Er:YAG Laser Radiation."

Graduate (SPIE) Poster, Second Prize ($200 + student membership) -- Leonard M. Kisimbi, University of Central Florida, CREOL, "Precision Laser Ranging Using Extremely Chirped Pulses from Chirped Fiber Bragg Gratings."

Students received their prizes for Best Poster Presentation at the NSBP/NSHP meeting in February from judges Anthony Johnson (left) and Peter Delfyett. Top row: Manisha L. Turner, Margaret S. Martei. Bottom row: Valencia S. Johnson, Leonard M. Kisimbi. (Photos: Rodney Choice/ www.choicephotography.com)

Johnson commented that the high quality of the posters made the judges' job a difficult one. "We want to thank OSA and SPIE for sponsoring these wonderful awards and recognition for these outstanding students," he said. "It is worth every penny to see the faces of the students as they walk up to the podium to accept their prizes for best poster."