Michael Kidger Memorial Scholarship: Application Information
Scope
The Michael Kidger Memorial Scholarship was established in 1998 to honour Michael Kidger, a well-respected teacher and member of our technical community. The scholarship is an independent scholarship overseen by a select committee of leading individuals in lens design and the Michael Kidger family. It is intended for students in the field of optical design* working toward a Master’s or Doctoral degree.
*(The term ‘optical design’ as used herein includes lens, illumination, and computational design but does not include meta-optics-related work at this stage.)
- Recipients or beneficiaries of the award are students at any stage of their master’s or doctoral study who will have at least one year of study remaining following the award, or prospective students satisfying the entry criteria for their chosen institution.
- The overall approach of the program is to recognize individuals with outstanding talent in optical design during the very early phases of their careers.
- By recognizing and supporting student communication skills and academic excellence in optical design, this program can significantly contribute to the development of talented individuals in the optical design profession and optical industry by:
- supporting individuals studying and doing research in optical design;
- attracting more high-talent individuals to the field via scholarship support;
- increasing the visibility of optical design in order to broaden the labour pool of individuals qualified to work in the field;
- supporting research and academic endeavours of individuals in organizations that provide education in optical design;
- supporting talented students involved in novel research in optical design.
As a service to the optical engineering community, the scholarship enjoys promotional and limited administrative support from SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering.
Selection Criteria & Requirements
The selection criteria for the scholarship are:
- The Scholarship is to be awarded to a student of optical design, where the term ‘optical design’ is meant to include both lens design and illumination design, but does not include meta-optics-related work at this stage.
- The candidate must meet the entry criteria for the chosen course of study or research.
- The candidate must have at least six months after the award to completion of their chosen course of study.
- Note: The Scholarship Committee reserves the right to withhold the award of the scholarship in any year where an insufficient number of applications are received by the cutoff date to form a reasonable competition or when none of the applications received meet the committee’s requirements for quality, either in academic achievement or in presentation.
Requirements for the scholarship are:
- The candidate must submit a summary (five pages maximum) of his or her academic background and interest in pursuing training or research in optical design. Limited supporting material may be attached.
- The candidate must submit an Application Form.
- The candidate must submit two letters of recommendation. Guidelines for the letters of recommendation are:
- The two letters of recommendation that a candidate submits to the committee will play an important role in the selection of the winning candidate. It is therefore in each candidate’s best interests to obtain letters that most adequately describe their abilities and potential contributions to the field of optical design.
Writers of the letters should:
- Be recognized and knowledgeable in the field of optical design.
- Be familiar with the candidate’s educational background, personality, and current technical abilities, as well as their potential for professional development.
- Clearly state how the candidate meets the selection criteria for the scholarship (first three bullets of the ‘selection criteria,’ above) and, in some detail, why the candidate deserves the award of the scholarship.
- Note: A member of the scholarship committee who provides a letter of recommendation for an applicant will have a neutral vote in the evaluation process for that applicant.
Submission of Application, Summary and Letters of Recommendation:
The Application and Summary (including any supporting material) should be submitted by e-mail (preferred method) or by mail.
Two letters of recommendation must be sent by the recommender by e-mail (preferred method) or by mail.
The candidate’s application, along with the summary and two letters of recommendation, must be sent by 28 February to:
Via e-mail: scholarships@spie.org
Or via mail:
The Michael Kidger Memorial Scholarship
c/o SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering
P.O. Box 10
Bellingham, WA 98227-0010 U.S.A.
For further information, please contact: tina@kidger.com
Application Ranking
Key Criterion:
The key criterion in evaluation and ranking applications is: “the prospect for long-term contribution that the granting of an award will make to the field of optical design.” Need, in and by itself, shall not be considered as a criterion.
Other Criteria:
(i) Gender, nationality, national origin, or ethnicity shall not be used by any committee member to influence the ranking of applicants.
(ii) Applicants are eligible to apply and win in multiple years. In such cases, their applications should show additional potential contributions to optical design beyond that for which their first application was awarded.
(iii) Ranking preference is given to applicants who provide a well-written, succinct, and convincing statement as to their work’s potential long-range impact on the field, and whose applications are accompanied by strong recommendation letters from faculty or other credible sources.
Kidger Scholars:
Successful recipients of the award will be expected to complete their chosen course of study and research. Awardees are encouraged to make the results of their research available to the international optical design community in the form of a website linked to: http://www.kidger.com
Administration
The Michael Kidger Memorial Scholarship is an independent scholarship administered by a select committee of leading optical designers and Tina E. Kidger.
Committee Responsibilities:
Kidger Scholarship Committee Chair:
- Provide leadership, vision, and direction for the continued evolution and advancement of the Kidger Scholarship.
- Serve as the liaison to the Kidger Scholarship Committee.
- Lead the Committee in its roles and responsibilities.
- Make the final recommendations of the annual award winner, including the amount of the award.
Kidger Scholarship Committee Members:
- Participate in the scholarship application evaluation and ranking process.
- Approve the Chair’s recommendation of the award winner and the corresponding award amount.
- Provide ideas and input on scholarship award policies and processes.
- Publicize the award program to attract highly qualified applicants.
Committee Members:
- Fabian Dürr, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BE (Chair)
- Bráulio F. C. de Albuquerque, National Institute for Space Research, Brazil
- Julie Bentley, University of Rochester, USA
- Vladan Blahnik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, DE
- Martin Caldwell, RAL Space, Oxfordshire, UK
- Joshua M. Cobb, Meta, USA
- Stuart David, Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, GPD Optoelectronics, USA
- Florian Fournier, Apple, USA
- Marta de la Fuente, ASE Optics Europe
- Julius A. Muschaweck, JMO GmbH, DE
- Yunfeng Nie, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BE
- Donald O’Shea, Prof. Emeritus, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
- Andrew Rakich, Mersenne Optical Consulting, NZ
- Simon Thibault, Laval University, CAN
- Andreas Timinger, Lumileds GmbH, DE