Pisart Award in Technological Innovation

The Pisart Award in Technological Innovation was established in 1981 to recognize an individual, group of individuals or organization that have made significant contributions to the field of vision science. The award has evolved to recognize those whose technological innovations improve the lives of people with vision loss. Their efforts will have directly contributed to the mission of Lighthouse Guild to inspire people who are visually impaired to attain their goals.

Saqib Shaikh of Microsoft is the recipient of the 2023 Pisart Award for developing Seeing AI, a free mobile app for people with visual impairments. Mr. Shaikh, a software engineer at Microsoft, led the development of Seeing AI, a free mobile app that enables someone who is blind to hold up their phone and hear more about text, people, and objects. The technology has been called “life‑changing” by users.

We are currently accepting nominations for the 2024 Bressler Prize and Pisart Award. The deadline for submission for the 2024 awards program is March 1, 2024.

About the Pisart Award in Technological Innovation

• The Pisart Award includes an unrestricted cash award of $25,000.
• Open to anyone whose technological contributions have substantially impacted  the community of people with vision loss.
• Open to candidates from the United States and all countries.

Nomination Process

• A letter of nomination must be submitted with a nomination application for each individual candidate.
• The letter of nomination must establish the individual’s contributions.
• The letter of nomination must be submitted on the letterhead of the organization of the nominator and include his/her full name and title.
• An up-to-date resume must be Included with the application.
• Colleagues or professionals may make nominations.
• Nomination applications must be submitted online.

Timeline

• March 1, 2024: Closing date for nominations and receipt of all supporting documents for the 2024 Pisart Award.
• Spring 2024: Pisart recipient announced.

Questions? Call us. Ms. Fernanda Garcia-Piña, Director of Research Operations at 212-769-7833 .

Apply for the Pisart Award

Past Pisart Award Recipients