Edmund Optics has announced the finalists for its 2013 Research and Innovation award programme. More than 800 applications were received from 60 countries around the world. Edmund Optics will be awarding grants totalling over $85,000 USD in Edmund Optics products to the winners.
Fifteen finalists were selected from each of three regions, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The three winners of each region will be announced on 4 September 2013.
The 45 hopeful finalists, representing 21 different countries, submitted applications ranging from developing handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) probes for non-invasive diagnostics in primary healthcare, to real-time optical detectors for airborne asbestos detection.
The next step will then be the selection for the Norman Edmund Inspiration Award honouring one of the winning projects which best embodies the legacy of Edmund Optics' founder, Norman Edmund. It will be awarded with an additional $5,000 USD in products on 9 October 2013.
‘This is the fourth year of Research and Innovation award programme and it is only getting better. It's exciting to see the number of applications we receive from around the world and incredible to learn of the diversity of research that is being conducted at the academic level,’ remarked Kirsten Bjork-Jones, director of global marketing communications. ‘The technical expertise and determination of the applicants make this grant programme extremely rewarding for Edmund Optics. Our mission has always been to support the emergence of new technology and optical innovation – nothing is more satisfying than helping an idea come to fruition.’
Edmund Optics will now select three winners for each region, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, based on the technological value, the innovativeness of the application, in particular in relation to the use of optics, and the relevance to everyday life.
