Submissions sought for Berthold Leibinger award
Applications and proposals are now being accepted for the 2008 Berthold Leibinger Innovationpreis. The international award is intended to recognize innovations that involve the use or generation of laser light. Individuals and project teams who have completed publicly accessible outstanding scientific research or a technical development project in applied laser technology are eligible to participate. The prize of €35,000 (US$47,600) is awarded every two years by the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung, a private foundation. The application deadline is Nov. 30. For more information, visit www.leibinger-stiftung.de.
Entrepreneur award goes to Cascade
Cascade Technologies (Stirling, Scotland) won the Science and Technology Entrepreneur of the Year title at the Ernst & Young Scotland Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2007. Cascade Technologies, created in 2003, has developed and patented gas-, emissions-, and explosives-monitoring equipment based on the use of mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers. “We were short-listed alongside a clinical research organization involved in cancer-treatments research and a biosciences company, which has created a new paradigm for drug discovery,” said Richard Cooper, Cascade business development director. “Both were outstanding candidates for the award and we are honored to receive such important recognition.”
Philips to acquire Color Kinetics
Color Kinetics (Boston, MA), a manufacturer of light-emitting-diode (LED) lighting systems and technologies, entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Philips will pay $34 per share, for a total of approximately $791 million.
Color Kinetics has licensed its technology in markets beyond the lighting industry and worked alongside government agencies to promote LED lighting. Upon the close of the transaction, the merged entity will operate under the name Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions and will be headquartered in Burlington, MA.
Welsh group pursues cinema laser displays
Scientists at Swansea University (Swansea, Wales) are developing new laser display technologies that they say will enhance the quality of cinema projections and may lead to revenues in excess of $2 billion a year. The project is led by Bookham Technology (Northamptonshire, England); other partners include the Institute of Advanced Telecommunications (IAT) at Swansea University, Digital Projection (Manchester, England), and Stratophase (Southampton, England). The research is being undertaken as part of a $3.7 million project funded by the U.K. Department for Trade and Industry Technology Programme.
CeeLite and Eastman ink LEC agreement
Eastman Chemical Company andCeeLite (both in Kingsport, TN) have signed an agreement to manufacture CeeLite light-emitting-capacitor (LEC) panels using Eastman’s patented Encapsulation Technology and Spectar copolyester. Using electrodes to stimulate light-emitting natural phosphors embedded between thin plastic sheets, CeeLite LEC panels have provided high-quality, uniform illumination for electronics and surface lighting projects over the past two years. Growing market demand has fueled the need for the LEC panels to be more robust, allowing for use as complete lighting systems for self-installed interior signage applications and outdoor environments with harsh weather conditions.
Also in the news . . .
Aculight (Bothell, WA) was awarded a subcontract from The Pennsylvania State University Electro-Optics Center (EOC; Freeport, PA) for $2.6 million to develop mid-infrared laser transmitters for use in aircraft-missile countermeasure defense systems. . . . Dilas (Mainz, Germany) unveiled a new brand identity to reinforce its image and market growth over the past years with a bold and modern font and a new tagline, “The diode laser company”. . . . Quanlight (San Diego, CA), a startup that intends to commercialize a new material system for red light-emitting diodes, raised $3 million in its Series B offering. . . . Royal Philips Electronics completed its acquisition of TIR Systems (Vancouver, BC, Canada), a provider of solid-state lighting technology for products that generate high-quality white light. . . . The Trumpf Group (Ditzingen, Germany) and Jenoptik (Jena, Germany) set up a joint venture called JT Optical Engine that will develop, produce, and sell optical modules known as “optical engines” for fiber lasers. . . . LED modular-video-panel maker Lighthouse Technologies (Hong Kong, China) added a dedicated Japanese section on its Web site at www.lighthouse-tech.com. . . . Powerlase (Crawley, England) announced the placement of a laser with Fraunhofer ISE (Freiburg, Germany) for programs relating to the processing of solar cells. . . . BAE Systems (Nashua, NH) received two U.S. Army contracts totaling $54 million to provide a multiband laser technology upgrade for the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System program.