After collecting entries from around the globe, Ocean Optics has named two winners of its World Cup of Applications contest.

Andreas Burkart won for The Faint Red Glow of Photosynthesis, and a group effort submitted by Bruce Robertson won for Polarized Light Pollution: A New Kind of Ecological Photopollution. Contest winners will be enjoying a trip for four to Ocean Optics’ Florida headquarters this fall for the opening of its new application lab.

In the spirit of global teamwork exemplified by the summer FIFA World Cup™, Ocean Optics invited customers to send in applications notes featuring research using its spectrometers. Over 40 entries were received, with all entries awarded a 5% voucher on a future purchase. From a field of tough competitors, Burkart and Robertson emerged as the grand prize winners.

Burkart’s winning entry investigated a new avenue for plant study–using spectroscopy to measure the faint red chlorophyll fluorescence present during photosynthesis. In order to apply this method in remote field locations, Burkart paired inexpensive open source microcontrollers with Ocean Optics spectrometers, creating a fully solar driven research instrument.

Robertson submitted the work of a team that also included Gábor Horváth, György Kriska, and Péter Malik. The team studied the ecological impact of the interaction (polarization) of light with human made objects such buildings, cars, roads and other outdoor materials. The team used Ocean Optics spectrometers to characterize different manmade light sources and their effects when shined on various objects.

The winning application notes, along with a number of excellent additional submissions, can be found at oceanoptics.com/world-cup-entries/. Ocean Optics also maintains a comprehensive Applications knowledge base at oceanoptics.com/application/.

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