Headwall Photonics, Inc., Special Projects Team Named Recipient of OSA's 2019 Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award
Team develops state-of-the-art spectrometer to monitor croplands and forests across the planet
WASHINGTON - The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to announce that the Special Projects Team of Headwall Photonics Inc., U.S.A., has received the 2019 Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award.
The team is recognized for "the successful development of a compact, rugged, and lightweight imaging spectrometer, optimized for cost-effective airborne retrieval of chlorophyll fluorescence emission signatures monitoring plant health in near-real-time at simultaneously high spectral and spatial resolutions."
Caption: David Blair, Headwall's director of strategic programs, accepted the Forman Award on behalf of the team from 2019 OSA President Ursula Gibson.
Credit: OSA
The 2019 award was presented at last night's FiO + LS Award Ceremony and Reception, which is part of the OSA's Frontiers in Optics (FiO) + Laser Science (LS) conference in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. David Blair, Headwall's director of strategic programs, accepted the award on behalf of the team. A list of all team members is available here.
"OSA is proud to honor the teamwork and innovation that created this new technology to improve the way we monitor the health of our planet's ecosystems and global agriculture," said 2019 OSA President Ursula Gibson.
The engineers and scientists working on the project delivered a state-of-the-art spectrometer, known as the Headwall Chlorophyll Fluorescence Sensor, for imaging solar-induced fluorescence (SIF). The final design exceeds the original specifications and took just 13 months to develop after the initial project discussions.
The ability to take direct measurements of SIF can be used as an indicator of plant stress and crop health. It can also be used to provide more accurate estimates of species composition, seasonal variations, and physiological status.
Results from the preliminary prototype confirm near-theoretical instrument performance from the as-built hardware, and the ability to retrieve chlorophyll fluorescence signatures from altitudes ranging between 1000 - 3000 feet above sea level. Invaluable assistance was provided to the Headwall team by their science partners from NASA and Brown University, U.S.A.
