EOS Celebrating Excellence in Photonics

Celebrating Excellence: Paloma Arroyo Huidobro Receives the 2025 EOS Early Career Women in Photonics Award

The European Optical Society (EOS) is proud to announce that the EOS Early Career Women in Photonics Award 2025 has been presented to Paloma Arroyo Huidobro from the Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM).

This prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions by early-career women scientists in the field of photonics. It includes a diploma and an honorarium of €2500 and is presented every two years, with the next edition scheduled for 2027.

Paloma Arroyo Huidobro has made significant and original contributions to the fields of nanophotonics and metamaterials. Her research has led to the proposal of novel mechanisms to control light at the nanoscale, through new fundamental understanding of its interaction with matter.

Paloma’s innovative research, dedication to advancing the field, and impact within the photonics community truly embody the spirit of this award.

The award was presented during the award ceremony at CLEO/Europe-EQEC on Tuesday, 24 June 2025, held within the World of Photonics Congress (23–27 June 2025) in Munich.

2025 Award Committee

• Roelene Botha, Committee Chair – Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland, and EOS Treasurer
• Manuel Filipe Costa, Committee Member – University of Minho & SPOF, Portugal, and EOS Board Member
• Nathalie Westbrook, Committee Member – Université Paris-Saclay, Institut d'Optique, France

Background to Award

EOS Early Career Women/Entrepreneur in Photonics awards were launched in 2015 to honor the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL2015), which was a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications, and health. The awards were part of the activity of the LIGHT2015 project. In its launching year, the awards were known as LIGHT2015 Young Women in Photonics/Young Photonics Entrepreneur Awards.

Looking Ahead

With this award, EOS continues its mission to highlight and support emerging talent and to promote gender equity in science and technology.

We warmly congratulate Paloma Arroyo Huidobro on this well-deserved recognition, and we look forward to seeing her continued impact in advancing photonics research.

Applications for the next edition of the EOS Early Career Women in Photonics Award will open in Spring 2027.
 

Learn more: EOS Early Career Women in Photonics Award