The 95th annual awards ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will take place as it does almost every other year at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Millions of miles away, the James Webb Space Telescope will be conducting research experiments by shining IR Light onto Laser Gold plated sensors and components. In Los Angeles, flash photography will shine onto 60 Statuettes also plated with Laser Gold. The James Webb will measure IR energy while the awards ceremony will measure theatrical greatness.
This year’s award winners are rewarded with a highly polished 24K Laser Gold plated Oscar. This same process was originally developed for spacecraft use. On the JWST, Laser Gold helps to manage thermal loads by reflecting radiation away from critical equipment. The NIRCam Cameras and sensors that require extremely low temps to operate are clad with Laser Gold. The Oscar Statuette gets the same Laser Gold treatment.
Sadly, no one from Epner Technology will be in attendance this year. David Epner, who previously attended the award show, passed away in 2022. Although he had a habit of leaving before the show started, his presence, and contribution to the Laser Gold plating process will continue to resonate from the hills of Hollywood to beyond the reach of the James Webb Space Telescope.
