The annual ICO-ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award ceremony was held at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) during the Winter College on Optics: Optical Frequency Combs – from multispecies gas sensing to high precision interrogation of atomic and molecular targets held 15-26 February. The ICO/ICTP Gallieno Denardo prize is awarded to young scientists from developing countries, as defined by the United Nations, who conduct their research in these countries. The award is given to scientists under 40 years of age (on December 31 of the year for which the award is given) who are active in optics research and who have contributed to the promotion of optics research activities in their own, or another, developing country. The ICO/ICTP Award Committee members, Mourad Zghal (Chair and ICO VP), Ahmadou Wagué (ICO VP), Joseph Niemela (ICO VP), Anna Consortini (ICO former President) and Mitcho Danailov awarded the 2016 ICO/ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award to two young scientists: Mati Horprathum, Thailand and Jehan Akbar, Pakistan.

Mati Horprathum, started his career with National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Thailand. From 2006 to 2011, he worked with Photonic Technology Laboratory and was responsible for research in optical thin-film coatings, characterizations, vacuum coating systems based on physical vapour deposition, and co-ordination with other research groups in Thailand. In 2011, he received a postdoctoral fellowship supported by Japan National Project “the Funding Program for Next Generation Word-Leading Researcher”. During the postdoctoral position, he worked at Laboratory of Atomic Scale Materials Processing, Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (ISIR), Osaka University, Japan in the “Green Innovation Science” project, and was responsible for developments of growth and alignment of uniform oxide nanowires and developments of nanostructures by top-down and bottom-up techniques. Since 2013, he has been a researcher at Optical Thin-Film Laboratory, NECTEC, Thailand. His current works involve thin-film and nanostructure areas, i.e., glancing-angle deposition, nano-microelectronics mechanic devices, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), fabrications and characterizations of nanostructures, optoelectronic devices, electrochromic thin films, spectroscopic ellipsometry, vacuum designs, and thin-film characterizations. Through his career, his major interests are to utilize the optical thin-film and nanostructure technologies towards local industrial manufactures, as well as medical and environmental applications in Thailand. He also enjoys giving lectures in the optical thin-film and nanotechnology to undergraduate and graduate students, and engineers working on optical industries in Thailand. He has authored and co-author more than 50 refereed journals, 100 proceedings, and has been a regular reviewer for 11 journals. He also holds two Thai patents, and nine Thai patent applications. In addition, he has also organized seven international conferences and events in surface sciences, thin-film coatings, and sensors.

Ref:

https://www.ictp.it/about-ictp/prizes-awards/icoictp-gallieno-denardo-award/winners/icoictp-prize-2016.aspx

https://e-ico.org/node/347

https://spie.org/about-spie/press-room/press-releases/winter-college-on-optics-hones-in-on-optical-frequency-comb-technology-9-mar-16