Photonics for a Better World

WORKING TOWARD A CURE: PhD student Christopher Pacia  smiles for the camera Why haven't we found a cure for cancer yet? This is the question that motivates Christopher Pacia when he's doing research  in the  Chen Ultrasound Lab  at  Washington University in St. Louis  (WUSTL) . Pacia is a  PhD student in biomedical engineering, and his research focuses on  ultrasound imaging and therapy that can impact cancer patient care. "With a greater understanding of the brain, treatments can be more patient-specific," says Pacia. "In that way, they will also be more effective in improving the lives of those affected by the seemingly boundless complexity of neurological disorders." Pacia is the current Vice President of the SPIE Student Chapter at his university, under the supervision of 2019 SPIE Britton Chance Award winner, Dr. Samuel Achilefu . The chapter is involved in a variety of local outreach activities which, according to Pacia, is one of th...

PHOTONICS-FOCUSED PAIR: Choi and   Kovach work side-by-side in the  Armani Research Lab Technical conferences such as SPIE Photonics West are known for giving students the opportunity to present their research, perfect their presentation and networking skills, and actively engage with other researchers in a setting outside of their university lab. SPIE Fellow and  University of Southern California Professor Andrea Armani, a   strong advocate of student professional  development , brings a group from her lab to SPIE Photonics West each year to present their latest work. You can follow along with the Armani Research Lab and their journey to the conference via Armani's Twitter feed . Hyungwoo Choi, Rene Zeto, Dongyu Chen, and Andre Kovach will accompany Professor Armani to Photonics West for a series of six presentations. The list of talks can be found here . Choi attended SPIE Photonics West last year as an author and was pleasantly surprised by...