The ICO Prize is given to ground-breaking researchers in optics who are under the age of 40. Ozcan, 37, has developed a range of high-throughput computational photonics tools for use in metrology, telemedicine and other biomedical applications.
Devices and techniques pioneered in Ozcan’s UCLA lab include holographic on-chip microscopy platforms that can image single nanoparticles and viruses, and detect cancer and other abnormalities at the single-cell level. Ozcan’s lab has also developed lightweight, 3D-printed smartphone attachments that can diagnose diseases including malaria and HIV; detect mercury and pathogens (e.g., giardia and E. coli) in water samples; and detect allergens in prepared food. These devices are portable and cost-effective, making them practical for use in biomedicine and environmental monitoring in rural and resource-poor areas. Some of these inventions have been commercialized by a UCLA spin-off company founded by Ozcan and are being used in more than 10 countries.
Previous winners of the ICO Prize include Stefan Hell, who in 2014 shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and Alain Aspect, who received the UNESCO Albert Einstein Medal in 2012.
Ozcan is the first UCLA faculty member to win the ICO Prize.
ICO was created in 1947 to advance the progress of optics and photonics. ICO’s nearly 60 member organizations from around the world include the Optical Society (OSA), IEEE Photonics Society, the European Optical Society and SPIE, the international optics society.
Said Ozcan, “I am honored and humbled to have received this prestigious award and to join past recipients whom I have long admired and respected for their pioneering work and impact.”