SPIE, the international optics and photonics society, is to honour Thomas Glynn of the School of Physics, NUI Galway as Fellow of the Society for his achievements in laser materials processing and optics education. SPIE will honour 59 new Fellows of the Society this year. Fellows are members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honoured for their technical achievement, for their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE in particular. More than 600 SPIE members have become Fellows since the Society's inception in 1955. "The annual recognition of Fellows provides an opportunity for us to acknowledge outstanding members for their service to the general optics community," says María Yzuel, SPIE President. Professor Glynn's research centres on the optical properties of materials, and throughout his career, he has made numerous contributions to studies of the optical properties of a wide range of materials, to the applications of laser systems in materials processing, and to optics education. Just as important is his work in optics education and its broader dissemination of the principles and applications of photonics. Glynn is an active member of SPIE. He was elected to the SPIE Board of Directors for the term 2005-2007. He also was an organizer and chair of the Lasers & Optical Engineering conference (1997), and of the SPIE OPTO-Ireland regional conference (2002), both held in Galway. President of NUI Galway, Dr James J Browne, said: "It is a well deserved honour which reflects on the work of Professor Glynn, on the success of the National Centre for Laser Application (NCLA), the School of Physics and indeed on NUI Galway". -ends-