Facebook Reality Labs Liquid Crystal Research Award

Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) brings together a world-class team of researchers, developers, and engineers to create the future of virtual and augmented reality, which together will become as universal and essential as smartphones and personal computers are today. And just as personal computers have done over the past 45 years, AR and VR will ultimately change everything about how we work, play, and connect.

We are developing all the technologies needed to enable breakthrough AR glasses and VR headsets, including optics and displays, computer vision, audio, graphics, brain-computer interface, haptic interaction, eye/hand/face/body tracking, perception science, and true telepresence. Some of those will advance much faster than others, but they all need to happen to enable AR and VR that are so compelling that they become an integral part of our lives.

Liquid Crystal (LC) research is one of several research areas in the AR and VR Optics and Display group in FRL. The goal of our LC research is to develop advanced LC optics and display technologies and to integrate them with existing and emerging AR/VR optical and display solutions. Our aim is to provide better user experience, enable breakthroughs in the AR/VR optical design space, and help pave the way to AR glasses and next-generation VR headsets.

The aim of the FRL Liquid Crystal Research Awards is to encourage young generations in the LC field and in other cross-disciplinary fields to help unlock the possibilities of LC technology in the AR/VR field. FRL is pleased to invite researchers, graduate students, and postdocs (who have graduated in the last three years), with research experience in the liquid crystal field, to apply for this award.

In order to support academic work that addresses our challenges and opportunities while producing generalizable knowledge, FRL is pleased to offer six research awards. The awards include one Diamond Award of $5000, two Platinum Awards of $3500, and three Gold Awards of $2500.

Please see more information about eligibility and application here.