Photonics for a Better World

Brownie Space Science Adventurer Cybersecurity. Space exploration. Robotics. Mechanical engineering. Environmental advocacy. These are just a few of the STEM-related areas covered by 30 new Girl Scout badges  that reflect freshly-implemented programs for girls 5-18. Girls in kindergarten through fifth grade, for example, through a collaboration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate led by the SETI Institute, now have a window into the wonderful worlds of outer space and astronomy. Fourth and fifth grade girls can earn mechanical engineering badges through hands-on work as they design paddle boats, cranes, and balloon-powered cars, learning about jet propulsion, buoyancy, and potential and kinetic energy in the process. New programming for girls in grades 6-12 includes learning to design, program, and showcase robots, while the Raytheon-funded “Think Like a Programmer” track offers foundational lessons in computational thinking, and “Think Like an Engineer” focuses on how

Christopher Han SPIE’s #FacesofPhotonics social media campaign connects SPIE members in the global optics, photonics, and STEM communities. It serves to highlight similarities, celebrate differences, and foster a space where conversation and community can thrive. This week on #FacesofPhotonics we are sharing the story of Christopher Han, a junior at  Suzhou Singapore International School in China . Last year he presented his first academic paper at SPIE Optical Metrology in Munich. What an achievement! Check out his paper on the SPIE Digital Library . We hope you enjoy his story. Getting started In June 2016, I started an internship at a local optics company for a summer project where I would help to design an application. I worked with Master's students to program an app using C++, an app that could calculate the optimum transmission sphere when the data of a test surface was provided. The students were also having discussions regarding being innovative and doing res

Nathan Rasmussen SPIE’s #FacesofPhotonics social media campaign connects SPIE members in the global optics, photonics, and STEM communities. It serves to highlight similarities, celebrate differences, and foster a space where conversation and community can thrive. This week on #FacesofPhotonics we are sharing the story of Nathan Rasmussen from Arcata, California. Nathan was part of the SPIE Student Chapter at Washington State University (WSU) and is now a physics and 3D math consultant, programmer, and game designer for Martian Games, a small company that focuses on multiplayer games and virtual reality (VR). He is also working on interactions and optimization for VR. Looking forward, he says, one day he hopes “to develop games and experiences for STEM classes in order to teach abstract concepts.” We hope you enjoy his interview. 1. Tell us about when you first became interested in optics and photonics. Nathan at the Seattle Indies Expo, demoing an Android game As a c

SPIE’s #FacesofPhotonics social media campaign connects SPIE members in the global optics, photonics, and STEM communities. It serves to highlight similarities, celebrate differences, and foster a space where conversation and community can thrive. Sylwester working on a breath-analysis system in  the Optoelectronics Institute. This week on #FacesofPhotonics we are sharing the story of Junior R&D Engineer at InPhoTech, Sylwester Chojnowski ! Sylwester is originally from Poland, and graduated with his Master of Science from the Military University of Technology (MUT) in Warsaw. We hope you enjoy his interview. 1. Tell us about when you first became interested in optics and photonics. I became interested in optoelectronics and photonics while I was studying at MUT in Warsaw. While studying chemistry I was interested in methods of detecting various gases, particularly hazardous and explosives materials. At the Institute of Optoelectronics, I was interested in the possibi

Kelli Kiekens SPIE’s #FacesofPhotonics is a showcase across social media that connects SPIE members in the optics and photonics community around the world. It serves to highlight similarities, celebrate differences, and foster a space for conversation and  community to thrive. This week on #FacesofPhotonics we are sharing the story of  Kelli Kiekens, researcher at the University of Arizona in Dr. Barton's lab. From searching for a way to detect cancer earlier, to ballroom dancing, Kelli is a woman of many talents. We hope you enjoy her interview. 1. Tell us about when you first became interested in optics and photonics. During my undergraduate education, my senior design class concentrated on various topics within optics. The group project for that semester was a study of holography where we created different types of holograms using a few different methods.  The hologram Kelli made in her senior design class We could then compare the quality of the holograms

SPIE’s #FacesofPhotonics is a showcase across social media that connects SPIE members in the optics and photonics community around the world. It serves to highlight similarities, celebrate differences, and foster a space for conversation and community to thrive. Angeles Rosales Camacho Back in April, we shared the story of SPIE Student Member Angeles Rosales Camacho. Angeles is the 2018 Student Chapter President at the University of Southampton, and a PhD researcher in the Optoelectronic Research Centre. She is the winner of her university’s 2017 Women In Science, Engineering, and Technology (WiSET) award, and is a dedicated outreach ambassador. In Forbes Mexico's most recent edition, Angles was listed as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women In Mexico! An incredibly well-deserved recognition for her work with young girls and women in STEM. See Forbes' entire list here . We hope you enjoy her #FacesofPhotonics interview. 1. Tell us about when you first became