A USD 20,000 research prize from the Optica Foundation, plus travel to CLEO, for an early-career researcher working on ultrafast lasers — biological imaging, ultrafast pulsing, laser material processing, non-thermal manufacturing or attosecond pulses. Applicants must be Optica members between one and five years past their highest degree; career breaks are excluded from that count, which matters for anyone who has taken parental or medical leave. Named for Bernard J. Couillaud, formerly of Coherent Inc. Awards are made annually and the award value is unusually large for an early-career prize in photonics, where most recognition comes with a certificate rather than research money.