Industry Briefs

Beautiful Science We may not know art, but we know what we like - in this case a 100,000 French franc (about $16,000) prize offered by Mo=89t-Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, the French luxury products firm, for a "study, or innovative technical process, related to the application of materials on surfaces, to achieve aesthetic effects." One of last year's winners of the "Science Pour L'Art" competition was physicist Jerzy A. Dobrowolsky, of the National Research Council of Canada. Dobrowolsky's work has focused on optical coatings that display iridescent behavior, especially coatings that change color with the angle of viewing. Dubrowolsky says, "It's a beautiful effect that's very difficult to achieve with ordinary printing." The Canadian government has begun using Dubrowolsky's method to protect its newly minted $50 bills from counterfeiting. This year's prize will be given for "physiochemical phenomena, processes of deposit and aesthetic effects." For information about the 1991 competition, contact M. ...