89 NORTH WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARD

February 2, 2012 – After only three years in business, 89 North won the prestigious 2011 Prism Award from the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) on Jan. 25. The award was for new products in the category of “Life Sciences and Biophotonics.”

The new product is 89 North’s Heliophor, a patent-pending, innovative, high-intensity and exceptionally stable new light source used for quantitative fluorescence imaging in a wide variety of applications, including cancer research. A pumped-phosphor light engine, the Heliophor’s stability and straightforward calibration system ensure that output intensity is consistent across measurements, allowing repeatable, truly quantitative fluorescent analysis.

The Prism Award was presented to 89 North at a gala banquet in San Francisco at SPIE’s Photonics West Conference. SPIE gives the award “to products that challenge conventional ideas, solve problems, and improve life through the generation and harnessing of light.”

SPIE was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 180,000 constituents from 168 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional growth.

“The Heliophor provides a new alternative to arc lamps, metal halides, and LED light sources,” SPIE said.

“The quality and competition among this year’s entries was even keener than in past years,” said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. “More companies submitted applications than ever before. The strength of applications from core companies in our industry along with the impressive innovations bubbling up from smaller companies really demonstrates the vitality of the photonics industry.”

89 North, located in Burlington, Vermont, is a subsidiary of Bellow Falls’ award-winning Chroma Technology Corp. Chroma is a global employee-owned company manufacturing precision optical filters and coatings for biomedical instruments such as flow cytometers, plate readers and fluorescence microscopes.

“We created 89 North to encourage the kind of innovations that emerge when smart and creative people interact,” said Chroma President Paul Millman. “The Prism award certifies the success of that interaction.”