The Alfred R. Cooper Session and the invited Cooper Distinguished Speaker highlights the spirit of the late Professor Alfred R. Cooper. Dr. Cooper was for many years a member of the faculty at Case Western Reserve University and a prominent contributor to the understanding of many glass phenomena and glass problems. He had a particular interest in fostering careful analytical thinking in young people as part of their education, and encouraged them to seek rigorous quantitative solutions to glass research issues. The session’s purpose is to encourage and recognize undergraduate students who have demonstrated excellence in research, engineering, and/or study in glass science or technology. The lectures are presented during the GOMD Cooper Session at MS&T each year. Donations to the Cooper Fund are always welcome.
The Cooper Session Distinguished Speaker is invited by the GOMD Program Committee in consultation with the GOMD Chair.
Award Winners
Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem
Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem is Professor in Photonic Materials and Optical Fibres and Deputy Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She is also Director of the Optofab Adelaide Hub at the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF). She received the Ph.D. degree in Glass Chemistry in 1994 at the University of Jena, Germany. She was with the University of Jena, Germany, 1988- 2000; with the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton, U.K., 2001-2004; and with the University of Adelaide, Australia, since 2005.
Heike’s research focuses on the development of novel and advanced optical glasses and fibres for laser, sensing and telecommunication applications. She has published over 250 refereed journal papers and ~240 conference papers; citations in total >12,640 times (Google Scholar, June 2024). Since her arrival in Australia in 2005, she has been awarded ~$50M in research grants.
In 2001, Heike was awarded the Weyl International Glass Science Award and a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship of the European Union. In 2017, she became Fellow of The Optical Society of America (now Optica) “for ground-breaking science contributions to the field of optical glasses and fibres”. In 2021, she was awarded the 2021 Darshana and Arun Varshneya Frontiers of Glass Lectures Award from The American Ceramic Society. In 2022, she received the Beattie Steel Award from the Australia New Zealand Optical Society for “outstanding leaders in the field of optics, coupled with strong contributions to the optics and photonics communities”. In 2023, she was awarded an Australian Research Council Industry Laureate Fellowship on “Breaking through the manufacturing ‘glass ceiling’ for ZBLAN glass fibres” and a South Australian State Government Future Making Industry Fellowship on translation of research to industry.