EOS Special Recognition Award

The EOS Special Recognition Award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the European Optical Society and the optics and photonics community. This award recognizes long-standing dedication, exceptional service, and efforts that have had a lasting impact on advancing the field and strengthening the EOS community. 

To date, it has been awarded to a few distinguished individuals, including the first recipient in 2014 and two recipients in 2025.

In 2025, the EOS Special Recognition Award was presented to Gilles Pauliat.

He received his award during EOSAM 2025 in Delft, The Netherlands. The award was presented by​ Patricia Segonds, Past-President of the European Optical Society.

About the awardee

Gilles Pauliat was a research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) until 2025, conducting his research at the Charles Fabry Laboratory in Palaiseau, France. Between 2009 and 2017, he served as Vice-President of the French National Optical Society (SFO). He was elected to the EOS board of directors for two terms, from 2004 to 2008 and from 2008 to 2012. During this time, he chaired a TOM at the EOSAM conferences held in Paris in 2006 and 2008. He then joined the EOS Executive Committee (ExeCom) as treasurer and representative of the SFO on the EOS and SAC boards from 2014 to 2018. From 2017 to 2024, he also served as Vice-President of the International Commission for Optics (ICO).

In 2018, Gilles was re-elected to the EOS board of directors, becoming successively president-elect (2018–2020), president (2020–2022), and finally past president (2022–2024). As past president, he took responsibility for the JEOS-RP journal on the ExeCom. Although he is no longer part of the ExeCom, he remains deeply involved and essential to the journal.

His long-standing dedication to the European Optical Society spans more than 21 years of invaluable contributions, during which he played a key role in shaping the society and advancing the optics and photonics community in Europe.

In 2025, the EOS Special Recognition Award was presented to Paul Urbach.

He received his award during EOSAM 2025 in Delft, The Netherlands. The award was presented by​ Patricia Segonds, Past-President of the European Optical Society.

About the awardee

Paul Urbach joined Philips Research Laboratory in Eindhoven in 1986. In 2000 he became a part-time professor of optics at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), while still also working as principal scientist at Philips Research. From 2008 to 2023, he served as a full professor and head of TU Delft’s Optics Research Group. During that time, he has been director of the Dutch Optics Centre, board member of PhotonicsNL, member of the Dutch URSI committee, the national Photonic Devices Committee and the advisory committee for metrology of the Dutch minister of economic affairs.

He was elected to the EOS Board in 2008 as an individual member. The same year, he joined the Executive Committee (ExeCom) as secretary, a role he held until 2010. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as president-elect. Paul began his presidency during the EOSAM 2012 conference in Aberdeen and played a pivotal role in supporting the transition of the EOS office from Germany to Finland, serving as president until 2014. He then became past president from 2014 to 2016. Demonstrating his commitment to EOS, Paul returned as EOS president from 2017 to 2018, following the resignation of the incumbent president before the end of his term. Finally, he again served as past president from 2018 until 2020. As past president he has been member of the board of the International Commission for Optics (ICO) as representative of the EOS. In 2012 Paul organized the EOS 8th Topical Meeting on Diffraction Optics in the TU Delft Aula Conference Centre and in 2018 he was local organizer of the (at that time still biennial) EOSAM, which was held in the same conference centre.

His long-standing dedication to the European Optical Society spans 12 years of invaluable service, during which he significantly strengthened the organization and advanced the European optics and photonics community.

In 2014, the EOS Special Recognition Award was presented to Françoise Chavel.

As she was unable to attend the ceremony in person, her husband, Pierre Chavel, accepted the award on her behalf.

She received her diploma during EOSAM 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The award was presented by​ Paul Urbach, President of the European Optical Society.

About the awardee

When the European Optical Society (EOS) was founded in 1991, Françoise Chavel volunteered to establish and manage the office of this newly formed not-for-profit association. Through her dedication, knowledge, insight, and skill, she tirelessly developed the foundation of the EOS – from legal matters and accounting to membership management, board meetings, ExeCom, Advisory Committee, Annual Meetings, conferences, publications, and the journals JEOS A and JEOS B, among many other responsibilities.

By 2000, after nine years of dedicated volunteer work, the EOS was sufficiently established that its administration could be transferred to a commercial office hosted by the WLT in Hanover. The founders of the EOS recognized that this success would not have been possible without Françoise Chavel’s active participation and exceptional contributions.

Her outstanding service to the European Optical Society between 1991 and 2000 was essential in building the foundations of the society and supporting the optics and photonics community.