SPIE Announces the Best New Products in the Photonics Industry at Its 18th Annual Prism Awards

BELLINGHAM, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 22, 2026--

On 21 January, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, recognized the top-rated new optics and photonics products with the industry-focused Prism Awards. The gala evening, held during SPIE Photonics West, marked the Prism Awards’ 18 th year of honoring companies that are bringing transformative products to market.

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Each year, the SPIE Prism Awards reflect the rapidly growing trajectory, exciting latest developments, and rich technical innovations across photonics and photonics-enabled industries. This year, the annual ceremony honored a range of established and emerging companies applying innovative and creative solutions to critical problems in areas such as cameras and imaging systems, sensors, lasers, quantum technology, XR technology, and biophotonic instruments. In addition, the Society recognized its third SPIE Catalyst Award recipient, honoring a for-profit company for a specific social or environmentally focused program that has had significant positive impact, either within their workplace, on society at large, or on the environment.

Finalists and winners were selected by a panel of international judges who leveraged their knowledge and acumen from across the technology commercialization and funding sectors. The distinguished judges from eight countries included government-agency representatives, commercial business executives, academic researchers, and industry leaders. Presenters at the gala event included the University of Arizona’s Jennifer Barton, Hamamatsu’s Klea Dhimitri, Coherent’s Chris Dorman, Optigrate’s Alexei Glebov, Chicago Quantum Exchange’s Kate Waimey Timmerman, Anchored In’s Anke Lohmann, Jenoptik’s Ralf Kuschnereit, Meta’s Naamah Argaman, and Imperial College’s Jessica Wade.

“The annual SPIE Prism Awards ceremony always offers an exciting collection of new products based on optics and photonics technologies,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. “All of these company teams – and I’m including the finalists as well as the winners here – have brought innovative products to market, implementing critical photonic-supported technologies in ways that will have ongoing and tangible impact on lives across the globe. As always, I’m delighted to have been able to meet and congratulate the people involved in person, here at Photonics West.”

Below is the complete list of the award categories, the recipients, and their winning products:

For more information on the Prism Awards and the 2026 winners, please visit the SPIE website.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, we have invested more than $26 million in the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. spie.org

Each year, the SPIE Prism Awards reflect the rapidly growing trajectory, exciting latest developments, and rich technical innovations across photonics and photonics-enabled industries.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance, speaking in his home state of Ohio before visiting Minnesota on Thursday, blamed the “far left" for turmoil surrounding the White House's deportation campaign.

“If you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country,” Vance said in Toledo. “It’s not that hard.”

Vance plans to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, which has been a focal point for protests since an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three, during a confrontation this month. The Republican vice president has played a leading role in defending that agent and said Good's death was “a tragedy of her own making.”

He also praised the arrest of protesters who disrupted a church service in Minnesota on Sunday and said he expects more prosecutions to come. The protesters entered the church chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good."

“They’re scaring little kids who are there to worship God on a Sunday morning,” Vance said. “Those people are going to be sent to prison so long as we have the power to do so."

He added: “Just as you have the right to protest, they have a right to worship God as they choose. And when you interrupt that, that is a violation of the law.”

Vance’s appearance was primarily focused on bolstering the Trump administration’s positive economic message on the heels of Trump's appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The vice president also took the opportunity to boost some of Republicans' important statewide candidates in this fall's midterm elections, including gubernatorial contender Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Sen. Jon Husted.

Convincing voters that the nation is in rosy financial shape has been a persistent challenge for Trump during the first year of his second term. Polling has shown that the public is unconvinced that the economy is in good condition and majorities disapprove of how Trump's handling of foreign policy.

Vance urged voters to be patient on the economy, saying Trump had inherited a bad situation from Democratic President Joe Biden.

“You don’t turn the Titanic around overnight,” Vance said. “It takes time to fix what is broken.”

Carr Smyth reported from Columbus.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at an industrial shipping facility on the administration's economic agenda and impacts on the Midwest in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jim Watson/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance speaks at an industrial shipping facility on the administration's economic agenda and impacts on the Midwest in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jim Watson/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance speaks at an industrial shipping facility on the administration's economic agenda and impacts on the Midwest in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jim Watson/Pool Photo via AP)