Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition results announced

The annual competition is open to students in North America working toward a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree who utilise Synopsys' CODE V or LightTools software to perform optical design and engineering research.

This year's award winners are:

• Francisco Santos of the University of Rochester, for his paper, LWIR Multi Sensor Aerial Reconnaissance Camera. Using CODE V, Santos designed a wide field of view, compact camera system utilising an array of sensors, which is suitable for reconnaissance use in UAVs. "I am very excited that my design was selected for an award in the Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Design Competition," said Santos. "Learning lens design in CODE V has been both enjoyable and useful. I am eager to start my career in optics and demonstrate the skills I learned in school."
• Matthew Kozun of the University of Saskatchewan, for his paper, Aerosol Limb Imager Version 2. The paper describes Kozun's use of CODE V to design an updated version of an optical remote sensing instrument developed at the University of Saskatchewan called the Aerosol Limb Imager (ALI). ALI can be used to image scattered sunlight from the atmospheric limb, which is an important tool for mapping the atmosphere. "The Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Design Competition highlights the innovative ways students are using optical software from Synopsys," said Kozun. "I have learned CODE V with very little formal instruction, which I believe shows how intuitive and powerful the software is for modelling complex optical systems."
• Furkan Sahin of the University of Southern California, for his paper, Distortion Optimization for Wide-Angle Computational Cameras. Sahin's CODE V project includes the design of miniature wide-angle cameras to be used in implantable retinal prostheses for people who are blind or visually impaired. "I used CODE V's optimisation and analysis tools extensively for my Ph.D. research on camera systems to restore functional vision to blind and vision-impaired patients," said Sahin. "The wealth of resources, high level of support and ongoing software training provided by Synopsys were very helpful to me in my project."
• Weichuan Gao of the University of Arizona, for his paper, Design of a Catadioptric Ultra-Broadband IR Microscope Objective. Using CODE V, Gao developed an IR microscope design suitable for use in semiconductor applications as well as for biomedical and biochemical research. "I appreciate that Synopsys offers a competition that motivates young designers to explore and enjoy the beauty of optics," said Gao. "Receiving this award is a great honour, and the experience will further inspire me in the study of optical design."

George Bayz, Vice President and General Manager, Optical Solutions Group, Synopsys, commented: "Each year we receive student design competition entries that represent a wide range of optical technologies. This year's winning entries demonstrate innovative use of Synopsys' CODE V software for imaging applications ranging from reconnaissance to atmospheric and biomedical research. Congratulations to all the student participants on their achievements."