The Photonics Innovation Awards is an exciting new initiative by Hamamatsu Photonics. The awards seek to recognize and support groundbreaking ideas that harness the power of light, driving innovation across various industries. 

To learn more about the award, Luigi Ghezzi, Technical Marketing Engineer at Hamamatsu, shared insights into the awards creation and the impact they aim to have on the world of photonics. In the interview below, we delve into Hamamatsu's motivations, goals, and future visions for this industry's important accolade.

Learn more about the award here.

About the Awards

What inspired Hamamatsu to create the Photonics Innovation Awards, and what goals do you hope to achieve with this initiative?

Luigi Ghezzi: Our company history inspired us to create this Photonics Innovation Awards. Both Photonics and Innovation are two pillars of Hamamatsu Photonics. We have been developing and producing optoelectronic components for more than 70 years. We re-invest at least 6% of our yearly revenue into research and development, and we are proud to have contributed, with our products, to 3 Nobel Prize-winning research.

Why is now the right time to launch an awards program focused on photonics innovation?

Light has always been an essential part of our lives, but never before have we harnessed and utilized it as extensively as we do today. Many everyday actions and operations—often taken for granted—are made possible by photonics. Beyond the undeniable impact of smartphones, photonics underpins vital advancements in telecommunications that connect the world, breakthroughs in medical diagnostics and treatments, including precise surgical interventions, and significant progress in industrial applications. And this list barely scratches the surface.

Photonics is also expanding into emerging fields such as agriculture, offering innovative solutions, and it plays a pivotal role in what many call the next scientific revolution: Quantum Optics.

With such immense potential, there has never been a better time to inspire, support, and explore all possible innovations in the field of photonics. The opportunities are vast, and the future is brighter than ever.

Hamamatsu Photonics Succeeds in Creating a Technology that Upgrades the Spatial Resolution of Two-photon Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy.

Participants and Eligibility

What qualities or attributes are you seeking in the proposals, and what distinguishes an award-winning idea?

The aim of the Awards is to leverage advanced photonics technology by developing a project that addresses real-world challenges. We will evaluate different criteria such as innovation, relevance and impact of the idea. Still, we will also evaluate the quality of the material submitted, the feasibility and the potential market of the project.

Can you elaborate on why the Awards are open to such a broad audience, including start-ups, OEMs, and established industry players?

Ideas are good regardless of their origin. Our customer portfolio is very diverse and includes both researchers and start-ups but also OEMs or established industrial players to whom we offer not only customized solutions but also full support for the integration and use of our products. For this reason, it was natural to offer the possibility of participating in this competition to a broad audience.

Focus Areas and Themes

What critical challenges do you hope applicants will address, such as sustainability or healthcare solutions, and why are these areas particularly relevant?

Our mission is to benefit society by developing technologies that capture, measure, and generate various types of light. For this reason, we did not want to create specific categories or direct the competition towards particular areas of interest, as we think, “light is possibility itself”. 

We are committed to creating meaningful benefits for the community through our products. 

That’s why we value all ideas related to projects that aim to generate added value. Sometimes, however, this added value might not be immediately apparent. 

Take autonomous driving as an example—while it may not initially seem like a community benefit, its potential to reduce accidents, alleviate stress, and optimize resource consumption makes it a transformative technology that can significantly enhance people’s lives.

Therefore, we encourage people to submit applications, regardless of the sector or area of focus. What truly matters is the strength of an idea and its potential impact on the community.

Are there specific industries or applications you anticipate will dominate the submissions, or are you aiming for a diverse range of innovations?

The presence of our products in various fields and applications shows us how photonics is everywhere, so we expect that the ideas will also be applied in different markets and applications without a predominant theme.

The Prize and Benefits

How does Hamamatsu’s Pilot Line service support the winners, and what advantages does it offer for developing their innovations?

As previously mentioned, we are interested not only in the idea but in the project in general. Through Hamamatsu's Pilot Line service, we can provide not only the technical feasibility of the project but also our support for the development of the entire project. For example, we can help customers identify the right business model or identify any necessary partners. By participating in the Photonics Innovation Awards, the project will have a direct access point to the evaluation for the Pilot Line service.

Aside from the €10,000 cash prize, what does the one-year promotional support entail, and how will it help winners gain global recognition?

This depends on the idea and collaboration of the winners, but we would surely include it within our communication on social media and newsletters, external media, or similar. Another possibility, in addition, could be to join at shows, exhibitions or conferences in the Hamamatsu booth.

Vision and Long-Term Impact

What impact do you hope the Photonics Innovation Awards will have on the photonics industry?

We believe there are countless innovative ideas in the field of photonics that remain undiscovered—stowed away in the minds or drawers of their inventors due to a lack of time, funding, or opportunities. We aim to support these ideas and provide them with the platform and resources needed to bring them to life.

Moreover, we aim to inspire the creation of even more groundbreaking concepts, encourage fresh approaches, and drive solutions to unresolved challenges using the immense potential of photonics.

How do you envision the Awards evolving in future years, and what role do you see Hamamatsu playing in fostering photonics innovation globally?

This is the first edition of the Photonics Innovation Awards, but our vision is that it becomes a regular event with a frequency yet to be defined.

Our idea is that through these initiatives, such as the Awards and the Hamamatsu Pilot Line service, combined with the merits that our customers already recognize in us and the quality of our products, Hamamatsu can continue to lead innovation in the field of Photonics, to be able to put its potential even more at the service of the community.

Is there anything else you’d like to cover that we have not already mentioned here?

History is full of examples of ideas that seemed like failures and then turned out to be brilliant and often, an outside perspective can be needed to help them come to fruition, so I hope that my answers have encouraged people to want to participate in the Photonics Awards. Regardless of whether you participate, I look forward to seeing as many of you at the award ceremony, which will be held at the Laser Show 2025 in Munich. 

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Award detail summary

• Prize: Winners will be celebrated at the prestigious Laser World of Photonics 2025 event in Munich, where they will receive a €10,000 cash prize and one year of promotional support and access the Hamamatsu’s Pilot Line service to propel their project into the global spotlight.

• Audience: Open to all engineers, researchers, OEMs, hardware manufacturers, startups/scale-ups, research teams, and students working on innovative PIC applications.

• End date: Submit your application by April 8, 2025, and join the ranks of photonics pioneers.