In the latest accolade for OLED technology, Steve Van Slyke and Professor Ching Tang were honored by the Photographic Society of America (PSA) with the Progress Award for 2019. The pair were celebrated at the PSA’s annual Honors Banquet for their co-invention of the OLED device and its “outstanding contribution to the advancement of photography”.

Steve is CTO Emeritus at Kateeva.

OLED co-inventors celebrated at the PSA’s Honors Banquet last Saturday in Spokane, WA

The PSA selects winners for an idea, invention, or effort that has had a “major impact on photography”. Previous recipients include Ansel Adams, Walt Disney, and the co-inventors of the integrated circuit, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, among other luminaries. Only one award is granted each year.

Steve and Ching’s pioneering work at the Eastman Kodak Company led to the invention of the OLED device. Their seminal paper on the topic was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters in 1987. Since then, the paper has been cited in more than 9000 publications.

Today, OLED technology is used to produce displays found in modern still cameras and video camcorders used by photographers worldwide. It’s also featured in smartphones, laptop computers and TVs. For photographers, the OLED-enabled cameras offer better contrast than previous-generation products, as well as more brilliant colors, a wider viewing angle and faster response time.

This is the latest award for Steve and Ching. Last year they were inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. In 2013, they were inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.

Steve joined Kateeva as CTO soon after it was founded. During his tenure, the company’s precision manufacturing equipment became the market leader for mass production of the organic thin film encapsulation (TFE) layer of mobile OLED displays. He became CTO Emeritus in 2017.

At Kateeva, we’re proud to play a small role in helping to fulfill Steve and Ching’s vision. The PSA award is a tribute to their remarkable innovation. We congratulate them!