Review of the nomination is then passed to the Optica Fellow Members Committee.
This committee then nominates the candidate to the Board of Directors on an annual basis.
Finally, the purpose of this award is to designate a member as one who has "made significant contributions to the advancement of optics".
Other factors may also include a record of significant publications, patents, and invited review papers for the various levels of meetings related to the covered fields.
[1] Once all the relevant information has been considered, the Optica Fellow Members Committee votes on the applications and those selected are forwarded to the Board of Directors.