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Awards

IEEE Photonics Society Industry Achievement Award

Recognizes significant contributions to the photonics industry through sustained entrepreneurship

Nominate a Colleague Today!

Nomination period: April 15 – June 14
Nominators must complete a nominee submission by May 31 each year with the following:
  • Proposed Award Citation: (Word Count: 30)
  • Supporting Statement: Provide a statement that describes how the candidate(s) qualify for this recognition.
  • Contribution: Description of the relevant achievements/contributions pertinent to the qualifications for the Award pertaining to the cited contribution.
  • Impact Statement: Provide evidence of the significance and impact of the cited contributions (up to 3 pages)
  • Nominee’s curriculum vita (Maximum of three pages)
  • Endorsements: Three letters of endorsement are required with respect to the cited contributions of the candidate(s). (One page limit)

EXTENDED
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
June 14

About the Award

Presented to: An individual, or group of up to four

Scope: To recognize significant contributions to the photonics industry through sustained entrepreneurship and/or leadership in the successful commercial introduction of photonics systems, devices, applications and/or photonics global market.

Prize: Certificate and cash Honorarium

Basis for judging: The evaluation will be based on factors such as the demonstrated impact of the specific innovation or technology advancement, the global acceptance and take-up of the specific product(s) and services, the extent of the nominee’s global recognition, and contributions to the photonics industry through the establishment of new directions and applications in the photonics field. These achievements should have been accomplished in a prior time frame sufficient to permit evaluation of their lasting impact.

Introducing Our Award Honorees

We are proud to recognize and celebrate honorees of the IEEE Photonics Society Industry Achievement Award.

Our Most Recent Honoree

Ishak IEA 2024

Waguih Ishak, 2024

For enduring, transformational, and strategic global leadership in the development, promotion, and introduction of photonic products including commercial VCSELs and the computer laser mouse.

Waguih Ishak is an adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. Honor in EE from Cairo University in 1971, his B.Sc. in Math Honor from Ein Shams University in 1973, his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in EE from McMaster University in 1975, 1978 respectively. Waguih received the Stanford Executive Program in 1999 and the D.Sc. honoris Causa from McMaster University in 2018.

Waguih joined HP Labs in 1978 and became the Director of the Photonics & Electronics Research Lab in 1995. In 1999, he joined Agilent Labs as the VP of Communications and Optics Research and Avago Technologies at VP and CTO in 2005. In 2007, Waguih joined Corning Incorporated as a Division VP and Chief Technologist and established the Corning West Technology Center in Palo Alto staffed with scientists and engineers conducting research on displays, interconnects, and sensors. His current activities at Corning R&D Corporation includes Photonics, Optoelectronics, High Speed Electronics, MEMS in addition to identifying new areas of growth (M&A, Talent Acquisition) and investigating computational techniques for material discovery.

Waguih is a Life Fellow of IEEE and received the Exemplary Service Award from UCSB in 2015. He is a member of the VCAT Committee of NIST. Waguih was inducted a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2020 and was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2022.

View All Award Winners

Year Award Winner Citation
2023 Simon Poole For outstanding contributions to the translation of photonic ideas into successful commercial products and demonstration of entrepreneurial leadership in introducing innovative solutions to the market.