And now the device, called a Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), has gotten the attention of state innovation experts. Horch, associate professor of physics at Southern Connecticut State University, was chosen as the "platinum recipient" of the 2009 Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) Innovation Prize. That first-place achievement enables Horch to compete for the national-level Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award for Performance Excellence.
Horch developed the instrument after receiving a $352,487 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2005. In 2007, he came to SCSU, where he completed the project with the assistance of several of his students.
"Disturbances in the atmosphere can cause images to blur together," Horch said. "But with this special instrument, it's like putting eyeglasses on a telescope. It enables you to see the two stars in a binary system distinctly."
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