INAOE team announced as inaugural winners of SPIE Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter

The SPIE Student Chapter at Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) is the first-ever winner of the SPIE Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter. The members of the chapter will be honored at SPIE Optics + Photonics in San Diego in August for their proactive engagement of students through technical programming, professional development, and community outreach.

The award, with this year’s recipient selected by 2022 SPIE President Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, recognizes an SPIE Student Chapter that demonstrates an exceptional level of participation, enthusiasm, program quality, professionalism, and involvement in their institution, the local community, and the SPIE community. Further emphasis is placed on robust outreach to undergraduate students, community service, increased technical education efforts, and developing an engaged — and engaging — chapter community.

SPIE Student Chapters at the University of Rochester and Poland’s Wrocław University of Science and Technology were recognized as the two runners-up.

As well as multiple coordinated, community-engagement activities around the International Day of Light; a children’s day event entitled “From generation of light beams to perovskite!”; and monthly technology-focused seminars by invited speakers, the INAOE Chapter held their ninth photo contest with the appropriately titled theme “Science in Your Eyes.”

"This new award is a way to show the Society's and my own appreciation for our student chapters and their critical contributions to the optics and photonics community," said SPIE President Anita Mahadevan-Jansen. "I am proud of these students who have worked hard to keep their chapter vibrant during a challenging year, and I wish them the best." 

“We are delighted to honor the INAEO SPIE Student Chapter with this recognition,” said SPIE Membership and Community Development Director Nelufar Mohajeri. “SPIE is committed to supporting students as the future leaders of optics and photonics as well as recognizing their impactful contributions to our community, and this is one way we continue to do so.”

As this year’s recipient chapter, five members of the INAEO SPIE Student Chapter and their faculty advisor will be invited to attend SPIE Optics + Photonics where they will represent their chapter at the annual Society Awards banquet.

To be considered for this award, SPIE Student Chapters must:

• Submit their annual report by the 1 December deadline of the previous year
• Have a minimum of 10 members
• Have an SPIE Member as a faculty advisor
• Have undertaken innovative and impactful activities, programs, and engagements through community involvement; developing technical knowledge via opportunities such as company visits, invited speakers, and attending/offering training courses; retaining and growing membership; and participation at SPIE events.

“The main purpose of our chapter is to raise awareness among the members about the importance of bringing optics to all people,” note the INAOE team in their annual report. “In order for us to teach others, we strongly believe it is important to grant each member the necessary resources for their professional development; we find these resources through the chapter by academic and networking opportunities.” And it’s precisely that kind of proactive environment — an embodiment of their optics-for-all people mission — that landed them this year’s SPIE Presidential Award for Outstanding Student Chapter recognition.