Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab Archives

Interface and the Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II extend an enthusiastic congratulations to all the participants and winners of the 2022 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The 2022 Regeneron ISEF program provided a global stage for the best and brightest young scientists and engineers around the world.

Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II sponsored the Physics and Astronomy competition for the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. The 2022 ISEF prize winners in Physics and Astronomy are Ayush Nayak from San Diego, California, and Alexander Plekhanov from Hillsboro, Oregon.

As sponsors of this event, it is with great honor to continue the legacy of Interface’s founder and his commitment to supporting innovation through science, technology, engineering, and math.

In total, $8 million was awarded to the finalists of the 2022 International Science and Engineering Fair. Participants were evaluated based on their projects’ creativity, innovation, and level of scientific inquiry. The competition featured 1,750 young scientists representing 49 states and 63 countries, regions and territories across the world.

Watch the complete Regeneron ISEF 2022 – Grand Awards Ceremony

Richard Caris founded Interface in 1968 and pioneered innovation in force measurement, along with STEM initiatives, which has continued for more than five decades. His tradition remains active through the Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II and women-owned business, Interface, Inc., leader in force measurement solutions. The Caris commitment to science is visible through the incredible contributions made to the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the Steward Observatory on the campus of The University of Arizona.

Founded on the belief that advances in science are key to solving global challenges, Regeneron ISEF supports and invests in the next generation of leading STEM thinkers who are generating ideas and acting as catalysts for the change needed to improve the well-being of all people and the planet.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Society for Science announced that Robert Sansone, 17, of Fort Pierce, FL, won the $75,000 top award in the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF). Other top prizes went to projects in the fields of energy storage, biomedical engineering, and robotics. In addition to the Top Award winners, 442 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including “First Award” winners, who each received $5,000.

For a full list of finalists who won awards, please visit HERE and HERE.

Interface is the world’s trusted leader in technology, design, and manufacturing of force measurement solutions. Our clients include a “who’s who” of the aerospace, automotive and vehicle, medical device, energy, industrial manufacturing, test and measurement industries. Interface engineers around the world are empowered to create high-level tools and solutions that deliver consistent, high-quality performance. These products include load cells, torque transducers, multi-axis sensors, wireless telemetry, instrumentation, and calibration equipment. Interface, Inc., was founded in 1968 and is a U.S.-based woman-owned technology manufacturing company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 2015, Interface’s visionary founder Richard F. Caris had many legacies, one of which is the donation he made to The University of Arizona’s (UA) Mirror Lab. This endowment was a testament to his unwavering commitment to innovation, exploration, and science. Because of his deep personal interest and generous donation to the lab, UA named it the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab.

At the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, scientists, engineers, and technicians are developing large, lightweight mirrors with unparalleled surface accuracy. The actual mirrors are helping to advance science and discovery around the world with the new generation of optical telescopes that can explore the universe through optical and infrared light. The actual mirrors developed at the lab represent a sweeping departure from the old conventional solid-glass mirrors.

Buell Tomasson Jannuzi, Jeffrey Kingsley, Ted Larson, Ken Vining in front of GMT Primary Mirror Segment 5 (S5). Photo Credit: Damien Jemison UA

Interface’s Chief Engineer Ken Vining and VP of Product Management and Marketing Ted Larson recently took a trip to Tucson, Arizona, to get an up close and personal view of the advancements that have been made over the last four years at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab. The experience is breathtaking for anyone that gets the opportunity to visit the lab.

Although the lab has been using Interface’s load cells long before 2015, the purpose of the Caris donation was to aid in the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) with the lab’s revolutionary mirror casting capabilities.

These primary mirrors for the GMT are described as “a marvel of modern engineering and glassmaking.” Five of the seven 8.4-meter segmented mirrors have been cast thus far. The first mirror is complete and the other four are in various stages of production.

Completing any telescope project is a significant time commitment. In the last four years, a few segments have been cast. The project is expected to run until 2027. Although completing the GMT is a long-term endeavor, the lab is starting to think about future projects.

During Interface’s recent visit, our engineers made sure to provide careful guidance on product selection to promote future achievements and inventions.

“The Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab team has all these ideas they’re thinking about and we knew if they engaged Interface early, we could help them solve a lot of problems.” – Ken Vining, Chief Engineer at Interface

While our experts were touring the Mirror Lab, they also discussed our new Interface University Program that provides special incentives for students and higher education programs. Interface knows that when programs learn with the best force measurement products, they can advance their learnings and encourage future innovations.

One of the additional benefits from the onsite visit was advancing Interface and the Mirror Lab’s collaboration in providing additional technical education, support, and resource to UA engineering students and Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab personnel. Interface has developed a variety of topics for educational seminars, including humidity’s effect on load cell performance, the basics of metrology, how to properly calibrate a load cell, and the impact of high elevation on load cells.

In case you’re curious about the last topic, elevation doesn’t have much of an effect on load cell performance. However, a telescope of this magnitude can test the boundaries like no other. It is 18,000 feet at installation altitude, which gets a telescope above the ‘dirty’ parts of Earth’s atmosphere. If you are looking to learn more about the Interface University Program, contact us here.

Interface was founded in 1968 by Richard F. Caris. You can read more about our history here. If you would like to tour The University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, you can get tickets online. Tours are Monday through Friday at 1 pm, and as available at 3 pm. Click here for tickets and information.

About UA: Established in 1885, the University of Arizona, the state’s super land-grant university with two medical schools, produces graduates who are real-world ready through its 100% Engagement initiative. Recognized as a global leader and ranked 16th for the employability of its graduates, the UA is also a leader in research, bringing more than $622 million in research investment each year, and ranking 21st among all public universities. The UA is advancing the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships and is a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $8.3 billion annually. https://www.arizona.edu