From April 1 to June 30, students and doctoral candidates can once again apply for the Applied Photonics Award. The young researcher award by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF honors theses that deal with innovative optical technologies for society and industry.

Promoting highly qualified young talent and recognizing new ideas in the field of applied photonics at an early stage – this is the aim of the Applied Photonics Award, the young researcher award by Fraunhofer IOF from Jena, Germany.

Prizes are awarded to a total of three final theses in the categories Bachelor, Master/Diploma and Dissertation. The winners will receive prize money and valuable career contacts in the photonics and optics industry. The prize money is staggered as follows: Category A – Best Bachelor’s thesis (1,000 €), Category B – Best Master’s thesis (2,000 €), Category C – Best dissertation (3,000 €)

All bachelor’s, master’s and diploma theses as well as dissertations (in German or English) that were submitted to a German university or college in 2020 or 2021 and are considered ‘passed’ by the time the application is submitted are eligible.

The field of study is irrelevant: the range of former award winners extends from physics to optometry to horticultural sciences. The decisive factor for the award is that the work deals with innovative and commercially viable optical technologies for sustainable living and economic activity.

Award ceremony at the international Photonics Days

The Applied Photonics Award will be presented in September 2021 at the Photonics Days, an international career and networking event organized by Fraunhofer IOF and the Max Planck School of Photonics. The event will be implemented as a hybrid format this year. The winners will have the opportunity to present their thesis in front of an expert audience. There will also be the opportunity to network with representatives of high-ranking companies in the optics and photonics industry.

This year, Fraunhofer IOF announces the Applied Photonics Award for the fourth time. But the tradition of the award goes back much longer: in 2018, it replaced the Green Photonics Young Scientist Award, which had been presented by the institute since 2012.

Applications will be accepted until June 30, 2021 at app@iof.fraunhofer.de. (Source: Fh. IOF)

Link: Applied Photonics Award, Fraunhofer-Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, Jena, Germany