Lionel Clermont: The 2022 SPIE Early Career Achievement Award — Government/Industry Focus
Lionel Clermont, who was awarded a PhD in space science from the University of Liège last year, is an optical engineer. He recently developed a disruptive approach for stray-light control in space instruments: time-of-flight (TOF) stray-light characterization, an advancement toward the development of higher performing space telescopes. Prior to his doctoral studies, Clermont worked as a junior optical engineer at the Centre Spatial de Liège, work that included projects incorporating optical design, optical calibration, and focal-plane alignment. During that time, he was involved in the ProbaV, ICON, Sentinel-4, and PLATO space missions. He also contributed to non-space industrial projects such as designing a probe for the ITER nuclear fusion reactor and the development of a solar concentrator. Since November 2020, he has been the deputy director of the STAR Institute at Liège, a consortium of more than 100 researchers whose work focuses on planetology, stellar physics, extragalactic astrophysics, and astro particles and instrumentation.
Some of Clermont's other contributions to optics include working on the development of a laser guide star system to be used as a reference for adaptive optics: he improved the design by implanting an afocal configuration with controlled defocus, creating a thinner artificial star, and providing a better reference for the atmospheric turbulences that affect ground-based telescopes. He actively pursues outreach activities, inviting students to visit his lab and speaking about scientific careers to the European Parliament. He has presented at several SPIE conferences and has published more than 20 papers in the SPIE journals Optical Engineering and Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems.
"I have had the privilege of engaging technically with Dr. Clermont through our mutual expertise," says Ryan Irvin, a senior optical engineer at Photon Engineering. "He is already a leader in the field of optical design, analysis, and testing for stray light control, but unique among Dr. Clermont's publications, I believe, is the fact that his focus is not just on one aspect of the stray light control workflow; it is an end-to-end control philosophy that begins with design principles, extends into component testing and software predictions, and concludes with verification of real hardware. At each step, Dr. Clermont contributes novel and practical enhancements, and his work on applying time-of-flight imaging to the stray light analysis and control process is one of the most significant advancements in our field in the past decade. This new tool will allow stray light testing that can be directly correlated to the stray light models being used in ‘verification by analysis' workflows, which are relied upon to help guarantee mission success. In addition, his commitment to fostering a culture of experiential learning for future engineers should not get lost among his technical achievements. Not only does he teach courses on optical design, analysis, and stray light, but he has fostered a culture of mentorship within the institute. As one example, Dr. Clermont arranges for gratis copies of our company's optical analysis software to be provided to his interns and takes it upon himself to teach the trainees how to use the software. This real-world training will expose those students to new engineering principles and tools that they may not otherwise encounter. I consider his proactive support exemplary of the highest commitment to science."
Meet the other 2022 SPIE Society Award winners.
Read more about Lionel Clermont and the SPIE Early Career Achievement Award.
