Renowned award-winners
Numerous renowned researchers and scientists have already received the Carl Zeiss Research Award.For example, Eric A. Cornell and Ahmed Zewail both went on to win the Nobel Prize.
The 2011 Research Award has been won by James G. Fujimoto from the MIT in Cambridge (USA).
James G. Fujimoto developed optical coherence tomography. This process utilizes light rays with low coherence length to generate three-dimensional images of living tissue in real time and with high resolution. It is already part of the standard equipment used in screening tests for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Ahmed Zewail made it possible to directly view the process of chemical reactions on individual molecules with maximum resolution in both space and time through the combination of state-of-the-art molecule-beam technology and ultra-fast laser spectroscopy. He received the Carl Zeiss Research Award in 1992 and the Nobel Prize in 1999.
Using laser light, Dr. Eric A. Cornell succeeded in cooling atoms to the extremely low temperature of 100 nanokelvins, enabling the examination of a long-predicted state of matter. He received the Carl Zeiss Research Award for his work in 1996 and the Nobel Prize five years later.
The winners of the Carl Zeiss Research Award, which has a cash value of 25,000 euros, are selected by the board of trustees of the Ernst Abbe Fund.
All award-winners achieved a major breakthrough in optical research.
