Emmett N. Leith Medal Awarded to Dr. David Brady for Invention of Sparse Holography

Optica’s prestigious 2023 Emmett N. Leith Medal has been awarded to Dr. David Brady for his invention of sparse holography.

David’s work focuses on computational imaging and has been applied in commercial x-ray, millimeter wave, mass spectrometry, and optical spectrometry systems. Additionally, the research has been applied to high-resolution cameras being developed through Aqueti, Inc. and Baseball Cloud. The Leith Medal was awarded for his work on estimation of 3D objects from 2D holograms.

Array cameras that stitch composite video in real time is a central focus of Brady’s current work. According to a SPIE article released about David’s work, "Computational imaging…allows users to refocus a photo, construct a 3D picture, combine wavelengths, or stitch together separate images into one. It can correct for aberrations, generate sharp images without lenses, and use inexpensive instruments to create photos that once would have required expensive equipment, even pushing past the diffraction limit to take pictures with resolutions beyond what a camera is theoretically capable of."

Brady was previously awarded SPIE Dennis Gabor Award for his holographic work. He is a Fellow of Optica, IEEE and SPIE.

In reaction to receiving the Leith Award, David said “Emmett Leith brought communication theory into optical system design. My work on compressive measurement continues the thread that he started. It is of course a cliché to note that we stand on the shoulders of giants, but it is wonderful to have an opportunity to recognize those giants through these awards.”

The Emmett N. Leith Medal was established in 2006 in honor of Emmett N. Leith, a pioneer in the field of holography. The medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made seminal contributions to the field of optical information processing. Read the Optica press release.

Congratulations on this great honor, David!