This award honors Max Born, who made distinguished contributions
to physics in general and to optics in particular. The award is presented to
a person who has made outstanding contributions to physical optics, theoretical
or experimental. It was established in 1982, the centenary of Born's birth,
and is endowed by the United Technologies Research Center, and individuals including Joseph Goodman.

Winners
| Year |
Name |
| 2009 |
Mordechai Segev |
| 2008 |
Peter W. Milonni |
| 2007 |
Luigi Lugiato |
| 2006 |
Richart Elliott Slusher |
| 2005 |
Alexander E. Kaplan |
| 2004 |
David E. Pritchard |
| 2003 |
Howard John Carmichael |
| 2002 |
John L. Hall |
| 2001 |
Bernard Yurke |
| 2000 |
Jagdeep Shah |
| 1999 |
Alain Aspect |
| 1998 |
Peter Zoller |
| 1997 |
Boris Ya. Zel'dovich |
| 1996 |
H. Jeffrey Kimble |
| 1995 |
F. Tito Arecchi |
| 1994 |
Valerian I. Tatarskii |
| 1992 |
Rodney Loudon |
| 1991 |
James P. Gordon |
| 1990 |
Samuel L. McCall |
| 1989 |
Dietrich Marcuse |
| 1988 |
Girish Saran Agarwal |
| 1987 |
Emil Wolf |
| 1986 |
Herch M. Nussenzveig |
| 1985 |
Roy J. Glauber |
| 1984 |
Adolf W. Lohmann |
| 1983 |
Joseph W. Goodman |
| 1982 |
Leonard Mandel |