BELLINGHAM, WA--(Marketwired - Sep 22, 2014) - Entries are being accepted through 10 October for the prestigious 2015 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation. The international competition honors new technology and product inventions from the multi-billion dollar optics and photonics industry, and is sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Photonics Media.

"The Prism Awards recognize the persistence and commitment required to ensure that the very clever ideas one hears about at our conferences translate into commercialized products," said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. "They boost visibility and credibility for companies making new tools for healthcare, manufacturing, energy, security, and communication that will make a difference in our lives."

To be eligible, products must be sold, delivered, or launched between 1 January 2014 and 1 February 2015. Companies may enter one product per category, and may apply with multiple products. Entries are accepted in several categories:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Alternative Lighting
• Biomedical Instrumentation
• Detectors and Sensors
• Displays
• Imaging and Cameras
• Industrial Lasers
• Materials and Coatings
• Optical Communications
• Optics and Optical Components
• Other Metrology Instrumentation
• Scientific Lasers.

Finalists will be announced in November. Winners will be announced 11 February at a gala banquet during SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco, California.

The competition is judged by an independent panel of industry experts including innovators from top companies, leaders in academia, business developers, previous award winners, financial experts, and other photonics industry leaders.

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 256,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library supporting interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided more than $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2013. www.spie.org.

Photonics Media, a brand of Pittsfield, Mass.-based Laurin Publishing Co. Inc., publishes Photonics Spectra, BioPhotonics, EuroPhotonics, Photonics Buyers' Guide and Photonics.com. With a collective subscriber base of more than 150,000 worldwide and more than 4 million unique website visits per year, Laurin Publishing's Photonics Media products and publications lead the photonics industry with editorial excellence and integrity -- fostering a tradition of innovation and progress by sharing knowledge, insights and visions for the future. www.photonics.com