The Glass & Optical Materials Division invites nominations for the Stookey Lecture of Discovery, named in honor of materials pioneer Dr. S. Donald Stookey. Dr. Stookey created major life-changing inventions including photosensitive and photochromic glasses, and glass-ceramics and in 1986 was presented with the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in recognition of his scientific achievements.
This award recognizes an individual’s lifetime of innovative exploratory work or noteworthy contributions of outstanding research on new materials, phenomena, or processes involving glass, that have commercial significance or the potential for commercial impact.
The winner presents a distinguished lecture at the Glass & Optical Materials Division Annual Meeting and receives a glass piece and a $1000 honorarium sponsored by Corning Incorporated and Coe College. The criterion for winning the award is technical innovation.
Nomination Process
Nomination package should include:
- Sponsor’s executive summary;
- Patents and publications related to the nominee’s career and discoveries;
- Two letters of recommendation by those knowledgeable of the nominee’s technical achievements and pre-eminence in their fields.
Contact
Nominations should be sent electronically by January 21 to:
Michelle Korwin-Edson
2024–2025 Chair, Glass & Optical Materials Division
and ACerS Staff Member Vicki Evans
Award Winners
Jasbinder (Jas) S. Sanghera
Dr. Jasbinder (Jas) S. Sanghera is currently the Acting Superintendent of the Optical Sciences Division at the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) located in Washington, DC.
He received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Leicester (UK), a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, UK, as well as a Diploma of Imperial College. After finishing a post-doctoral position at UCLA, he joined NRL as a support contractor but was converted to a govt position, followed by rapid promotion to Section Head, Branch Head and currently Acting Superintendent. In that capacity, he manages and technically guides scientists in all aspects of optical sciences and phenomena, including optical materials being developed for a wide range of applications.
Dr. Sanghera has received numerous awards including being the first recipient of the Young Investigator Award from ISNOG, the Federal Laboratories Consortium National and Mid-Atlantic Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer, the Sigma Xi Award for Applied Science. He was co-recipient of OSA’s prestigious David Richardson Medal, as well as the Navy’s Arthur E. Bisson Prize. He was elected to the position of Fellow of OSA, SPIE and IAAM. He was awarded the navy’s prestigious E. O. Hulburt Award, in honor of NRLs first director. In 2024, he won the Advanced Materials Award from IAAM. He has transitioned many technologies to the DoD and industry, published over 500 papers, edited a book on “IR Fiber Optics”, presented more than 250 technical talks, and has >140 patents awarded and 70 licensed to industry. In addition, he is an active participant on the committee for several conferences, workshops and NATO groups.