Two College of Engineering faculty members were recently honored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.
Siddharth Ramachandran
For his ingenuity, and years of dedicated effort and exploration, Distinguished Professor Siddharth Ramachandran (ECE) has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 SPIE G.G. Stokes Award in Optical Polarization. Named for Sir Gabriel Stokes, a pioneer in physical optics and polarized light at the turn of the last century, the Stokes Award is given for exceptional contributions to the field. The award announcement cites “the elucidation of spin-orbit interaction phenomena” (the physical effects of “twisted” or spinning beams of light) and of course, the discovery of his high-capacity optical fiber transmission method, as well as a variety of other applications for and impacts of his work in medical imaging, fiber-based laser technology, and quantum computing.
Irving Bigio
Professor Irving Bigio (BME) has been awarded the 2026 SPIE Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award for pioneering elastic scattering spectroscopy and translating it into a clinically impactful diagnostic tool, and for mentoring a generation of leaders in translational biomedical optics.
The SPIE Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award is presented in recognition of outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of biomedical optics through the development of innovative, high impact technologies. The award particularly honors pioneering contributions to optical methods and devices that have facilitated advancements in biology or medicine.