Award for Daniel Santiago Penagos Molina at the Optica ImageSense Congress 2026
The award recognizes both the scientific quality of his work and his outstanding presentation to the international audience.
Doktorand D. Penagos Molina is presenting research results at the 2026 ImageSense Congress in Maastricht.
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Published: | By: Ira Winkler
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Happy about the success at the 2026 Optica ImageSense Congress: Daniel Penagos Molina.
Image: privatDaniel Santiago Penagos Molina, a doctoral student in the “Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy and Microscopy” group at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, was awarded the Student Paper Competition Award at the 2026 Optica ImageSense Congress. The award recognizes both the scientific quality of his work and his outstanding presentation to the international audience.
Background and Competition
The Optica ImageSense Congress took place from July 12 to 17, 2026, in Maastricht, the Netherlands. As part of the congress, student submissions were reviewed by the Technical Program Committee; 28 finalists were selected from among the submissions. The final presentations were evaluated based on the criteria of content quality, added value for the technical community, and presentation skills.
Research Achievement: EUV Reflection Microscope for Rapid Material Identification
Penagos Molina’s presentation focused on an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflection microscope developed at the IAP that enables material-resolved surface metrology. The system allows for material identification with measurement times of less than ten minutes, thereby demonstrating how compact, laboratory-based EUV systems speed up advanced imaging directly on-site and make it more accessible to researchers. The award-winning contribution is titled “High Throughput Material-Resolved Surface Metrology Enabled by Tabletop EUV Reflection Ptychography.”
Statement from the Award Winner
“I am deeply honored to have received the Student Paper Competition Award at the 2026 Optica ImageSense Congress,” said Penagos Molina. “Presenting our research findings to experts from the international optics and imaging community was an enriching experience, and I greatly appreciated the stimulating discussions, the valuable feedback, and the recognition from the technical program committee. The conference also provided a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and network with researchers from around the world.” The recognition of the team’s research achievements and results is motivating him as he continues his doctoral studies.