Extracurricular Optics
Student and education news about the SPIE Visiting Lecturer Program, SPIE scholarships, the Winter College on Optics and Energy, and more.
SPIE Student Chapter members in Maryland (USA) and Osaka (Japan) formed an appreciative audience for leading scientists who visited their schools recently as part of the SPIE Visiting Lecturer Program.
SPIE Fellow David L. Andrews, professor of chemical physics at University of East Anglia (UK), gave an invited lecture on light-harvesting nanomaterials to members of the new Osaka University SPIE Student Chapter in June. And Jean-luc Doumont, founding partner of Principiae in Belgium who has trained thousands on scientific, technical, and business communication, participated in the first North-American-based IONS meeting at the University of Maryland in College Park in September.
The SPIE Visiting Lecture Program, a benefit of membership, provides opportunities for SPIE Student Chapter members to interact with world-class optics and photonics scientists.
"I was honored and truly delighted to mark the launch of a new SPIE Student Chapter," Andrews said of his visit to Osaka in June. "It was apparent to me that the new student chapter is thriving with support and gentle guidance from Professor Satoshi Kawata, and the student body is a true credit to SPIE."
The visit was arranged by Kawata, SPIE Fellow and director of the Photonics Advanced Research Center at Osaka University, and Chapter President Jun Ando, a PhD candidate.
Ando said Andrews' visit to Osaka made an immediate impact on the students' research.
One of Ando's fellow students met with Andrews after his lecture to discuss his research on a theoretical model for measuring interactions between molecules and photons that are exposed to laser light. "Professor Andrews kindly explained how quantum electrodynamic theory might provide a higher order model for his research, and the student was able to make a more precise calculation based on it," Ando said.
Members of the University of Maryland SPIE/OSA Student Chapter hosted more than 80 international participants from 15 countries for the four-day IONS conference in September. The SPIE Visiting Lecture Program provided support for Doumont's presentation on how to effectively write and present scientific content.
IONS is a student volunteer organization dedicated to networking and the academic interaction of international students in optics and photonics.
The conference included plenary speakers, student talks and poster sessions, a professional development program, tours of several nearby U.S. labs and the U.S. Naval Observatory, networking events, and Congressional visits to discuss science policy and funding with legislators.
"IONS-North America carried on the IONS tradition by providing participants with a means for meeting young scientists on a professional and personal level, for discussing science, for visiting state-of-the-art research centers, and for expanding personal horizons by visiting a foreign country," said Brooke Hester, president of the Student Chapter and conference chair.
A Winter College on Optics and Energy will be held 8-19 February at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Supported by SPIE and a number of other organizations, the annual Winter College will expose participants from developing areas of the world to a broad range of topics related to the applications of optics and photonics for energy production and saving.
The scientific program consists of lectures by international experts, group discussions, and laboratory demonstrations covering optical properties of materials and structures for light harvesting; charge photogeneration; transport in semiconductors; photovoltaic components; and other important aspects of physics involved in solar energy conversion.
An ICTP preparatory school will be organized 1-5 February for a limited number of selected participants.
For the 2009 Winter College in Optics, 100 students from developing countries learned about optics in environmental science.
More information: www.ictp.trieste.it
The deadline for applying for the SPIE/OSA Arthur H. Guenther Congressional Fellowship is 8 January.
The Congressional Fellowship program is designed to bring technical backgrounds and external perspectives to the decision-making process in Congress and enhance the optics community's ability to more effectively communicate with Congress. The Fellow gains first-hand knowledge of Congressional operations.
More information: spie.org/policyfellowship
The 2010 Photonics21 Student Innovation Award will be presented during the opening ceremony of SPIE Photonics Europe in April. Any person under the age of 35 with innovative work in photonics that has the potential to impact industry may apply for the €5000 prize. The application deadline is 10 February.
More information: www.photonics21.org
SPIE will award more than $300,000 in scholarships this year to students studying optics, photonics, imaging, optoelectronics, and related programs. Apply by 15 January. spie.org/scholarships
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