The Innovation and Creativity Award will be given, for the first time at ICSE-10, to recognize an individual, research group, company, or institution for outstanding innovation and creativity in the field of ellipsometry.
- Recognizes outstanding innovation and creativity in the area of ellipsometry, including but not limited to research developments, entrepreneurship, industrialization, broadening participation, knowledge dissemination, and outreach.
- $1,000 prize
- Sponsored by Cryogenic US LLC.
ICSE-10 Innovation and Creativity Awardee
The ICSE-10 Award Committee proudly announces the winner of the Innovation and Creativity Award competition, sponsored by Cryogenic US LLC:
Shirly Espinoza
ELI Beamlines (Czech Republic)
For developing the first versatile UV-NIR femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopic ellipsometer and for training, educating, and leading a broad and diverse international user community.
Dr. Espinoza is a permanent scientist at ELI Beamlines Facility, The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic. She graduated with a degree as Physics Engineer from the National University of Colombia, Medellin, Colombia in 2004. She received a PhD in Physics in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague in 2011. She currently coordinates the team responsible for developing the first pump-probe setup capable of measuring ellipsometric spectra of solid-state samples across the near-infrared, visible, and near-ultraviolet spectral ranges. She is a member of the Board of the AKE Ellipsometry society (European Society of Ellipsometry), and served as co-chair of 12th Workshop on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry: September 2023, Dolní Břežany. Her publication h-index is 12 according to Google Scholar. She has published 46 journals which are cited 467 times according to ISI WoS.

Purpose of the Award
The ICSE-10 Award Committee will seek nominations and prepare procedures for candidates and winner selection of the new award for best Innovation and Creativity in the area of ellipsometry including but not limited to research developments, entrepreneurship, industrialization, broadening participation, knowledge dissemination, and outreach.
Application for the Award
The award is given to an individual, research group, and/or company or institution for outstanding innovation and creativity in the areas of ellipsometry including but not limited to research developments, entrepreneurship, industrialization, broadening participation, knowledge dissemination, and outreach. The award consists of a certificate and a monetary prize of USD 1000. The 2025 Innovation and Creativity award is sponsored by Cryogenic Limited. The winner shall receive the award at the award ceremony at ICSE-10. The application should contain a cover letter, up to 2-page description of the innovation and creativity within the areas for which the candidate shall be considered, one or more letters of support from colleagues in the field (optional), and a list of the nominee’s most impactful achievements. Nominations for the award should be submitted to the Chair of the Award Committee (icse10@ellipsometry.us and cc vanya.darakchieva@ftf.lth.se) no later than January 1, 2025. Nominations and self-nominations can be made by anyone. The award winner will be informed by February 1, 2025.