LIA announces 2009 Educational Achievement Award recipient

The Laser Institute of America has announced that Ken Barat, certified laser safety officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will be awarded the 2009 R. James Rockwell Jr. Educational Achievement Award for exceptional accomplishments in laser safety education at the 2009 International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®) in Reno, Nev., in March 2009.

For more than two decades, Barat has dedicated his professional life to taking the educational message of laser safety to a wider audience. He is described as representing the essential role of laser safety education, which serves to protect the front-line people who work with lasers every day and are at the highest risk.

Barat has published textbooks and numerous journal articles on the subject of laser safety. He also serves as an instructor, consultant, presenter, and trainer and has traveled around the world to educate people about laser safety.

Additionally, Barat played a key role in the proposal for the formal certification of laser safety officers, and the CLSO exam now is offered through the Board of Laser Safety.

Laser Institute of America (LIA), Orlando, Fla., is the international society for laser applications and safety, serving the industrial, educational, medical, research, and government communities since 1968.