Pouria Valley, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona, has developed an improved flat lens that can change magnification and focus without physically moving parts. The lens uses liquid crystals between two thin glass plates that can bend light when tiny electrical charges are applied, mimicking adjustments made by traditional movable lenses. Valley's work led to patents and a startup company, LenSense, which was selected as a finalist in Nokia's innovation competition and plans to supply lenses for one in four mobile phone cameras by 2013. His liquid crystal electro-zoom technology has applications for webcams, medical devices, and remote sensing.