Corning Outstanding Student Paper Award

NEW AWARD corning

The Corning Outstanding Student Paper Award recognizes innovation, research excellence, presentation abilities and leadership skills in optical communications. The award is endowed by a grant from Corning and administered by the OSA Foundation. Papers submitted to the OFC/NFOEC Conference, February 24-28, 2008, in San Diego, California, are eligible for entry. Students must submit to OFC/NFOEC and opt-in to the competition during the submissions process.

Finalists are selected based on scores received during the standard OFC/NFOEC Technical Program Committee review. Status notification and a request for supplemental information are sent 10 business days after the acceptance letter for the OFC/NFOEC program.

The finalists are judged based on innovation, research excellence, presentation skills and leadership potential. Two of the top three finalists receive $1,000; the top finalist receives a grand award of $1,500. Award winners are announced during the Postdeadline Paper Sessions on Thursday, February 28, 2008.

Criteria for eligibility
All the following criteria must be met:

Presenting author must be an undergraduate or graduate student of an educational institution of collegiate grade who is devoting more than half-time to studies within the institution.
Student must be listed as the first presenting author of the paper to be considered for the award.
Submitting author must opt-in to the competition during the regular submission process and follow all the instructions provided on the submission site.
Paper must be submitted and accepted during the regular “call for papers” process for OFC/NFOEC.
The paper must be presented orally by the student author during the conference. Note: postdeadline papers are not part of this competition.

Selection process

All properly submitted papers are reviewed and scored according to standard OFC/NFOEC Technical Program Committee review criteria.
The 10-12 papers receiving the highest scores are considered finalists.

Supplemental information from finalists
Finalists must submit the following by January 24, 2008:

The student author’s curriculum vitae, including employment details, publications, honors and awards.
Two letters of recommendation highlighting the significance of the work and its potential impact on optical communications.
Copy of the paper and slides by January 24, 2008, for advance review by the judges.
Copy of valid student ID.

Final selection process

Finalists are scored according to the following: innovation (30%), research excellence (30%), presentation quality and general poise (25% with no penalty for non-native English speakers) and leadership potential (15%).