Post by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics

Reflecting on the 2026 SPIE Startup Challenge at #PhotonicsWest! 💡📸 New to the competition was the SPIE Jay Kumler Innovation Award. Presented alongside JENOPTIK, the founding sponsor of the Startup Challenge, the award honored Jay Kumler, the former President of Jenoptik North America and an #SPIE Fellow, who passed away last year. Kumler was a longtime leader and mentor in the industry and the Founder of the Startup Challenge. This year, the $3,000 SPIE Jay Kumler Innovation Award was given to Coalesenz Inc., whose work best demonstrated Kumler’s commitment to advancing optics and photonics innovation. 👏 Missed who won? Check the press release (or scroll through the photos!). 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gR98-Tjj