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Leading Lights: HRL and OSA Foundation Fund Maiman Memorial Student Award

LOS ANGELES, November 13, 2007 — In honor of Dr. Theodore Maiman's amazing invention, the first working laser, and to his other outstanding contributions to optics and photonics, HRL Laboratories, LLC has made a 10-year, $10,000 grant to the OSA Foundation (OSAF). This grant will also be matched by the Optical Society of America with a contribution to the OSAF general fund. (The award will be used annually to recognize and publicize an outstanding student in lasers and electro-optics, as well as the pioneering spirit of the late Dr. Maiman.)

Dr. Maiman made the first working laser, and in doing so flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Unlike his peers at the time, he believed ruby was the right material, and in 1960 watched in awe as the first laser beam ever glowed at HRL Laboratories in Malibu.

The funds could be used to enable a deserving student to attend and present a paper at a major OSA conference, such as Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO). The Award and Dr. Maiman would be recognized at the meeting and in OSA and OSA Foundation publications.

The OSA Foundation strives to provide all students with access to quality education resources in scientific studies and careers. The Leading Lights Dr. Maiman Memorial Award is an important step in supporting future leaders in optics and photonics. For information on contributions to the OSA Foundation, visit www.osa-foundation.org.

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HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California,  is a corporate R&D laboratory owned by Boeing and General Motors. HRL provides custom R&D and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC Members, for the U.S. government, and for other commercial entities.