Photonics for a Better World

In preparation of the second annual International Day of Light this 16 May, we asked members of the SPIE community to explain why they feel light is so important. Today, 8 March is also International Women's Day. So to kick off this year's 'Why Light?' series and to celebrate IWD2019, we spoke with SPIE Fellow Dr. Kyle Myers , director of the Division of Imaging, Diagnostics, and Software Reliability in the Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the US Food and Drug Administration. She is an active Member of SPIE, advocating for women in optics within her various roles with the organization and in the greater optics and photonics community.  She answers for us what light means to her and to the greater global community. Dr. Kyle Myers Dr. Myers answered these three questions in our 'Why Light?' series: What about light inspires you? How can light help overcome a current global challenge...

SCALING OPTICS' HEIGHTS: Dr. Alexis Vogt "Mama, can you teach us about optics?" Dr. Alexis Vogt, Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of the Optical Systems Technology Program at Monroe Community College, is no stranger to hearing phrases like this in her home. "Perhaps because of some brainwashing, my children love optics and have even mastered bedtime delay tactics with phrases like, 'How do you make glass, Mama?' My children are my motivation to work hard and create diverse opportunities for them to experience. What an amazing process to see the inquisitive mind of a child develop." Vogt, too, was introduced to optics at a young age —building a five-foot periscope for a 6th-grade science project—and promptly fell for the field. She received both her B.S. and Ph.D. in optics from the University of Rochester, and, upon graduating in 2007, went on to design contact lenses for Bausch + Lomb. As part of her busy schedule, Vogt teaches courses ...

PHO-NATIC: The ever-curious  Cheryl Asbury When you think of ballet, photonics isn't usually the first word that comes to mind -- unless you know Cheryl Asbury, Photonic Part Specialist for Mission Assurance at JPL/Caltech, and an avid dancer since childhood. Read the rest of Cheryl's Faces of Photonics story on the SPIE website.  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. Follow along with past and present stories on SPIE social media channels: Or search  #FacesofPhotonics  on your favorite social network!

SPIE Women in Optics program has been enhancing and promoting the personal and professional growth of women in STEM since 1998. With its proactive focus on diversity, inclusivity, gender equity, SPIE leverages its extensive networks as well as its funding programs to support professionals and students alike. Two Society grant programs, currently open for application, offer critical opportunities to SPIE Members, their communities, and their families. The SPIE Women in Optics Activity Grant Networking lunches and diversity coffee-and-cake meetups; hosting high-profile visiting speakers; recruiting and building groups of students interested in optics-focused careers; running STEM-engagement workshops aimed at young girls; and creating symposiums at which students interact with women professionals from industry and academia: these are just a few of the myriad activities that recipients of the SPIE Women in Optics Activity Grant have implemented around the world. The program, now en...

Anuja De Silva attending SPIE Advanced Lithography in San Jose, CA Meet the SPIE Faces of Photonics star of the week, SPIE Member Anuja De Silva. Anuja grew up in Sri Lanka and now resides in Albany, New York, where she works as a materials and process researcher in the Semiconductor Technology Research division of IBM. Speaking of her work, she says, "I develop new types of materials and processes that help us to scale the size of computer chips... It's hardware development for next-generation semiconductor devices." Anuja graduated with her Bachelor's in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke College and went on to get her Master's and PhD in Materials Chemistry from Cornell University. Upon conducting a research project for her undergraduate degree, she found her passion for optics and materials research. Anuja and husband Nelson Felix attend SPIE Advanced Lithography together. The couple both work at IBM. "I have always been interested in math and scie...

Mandy Malabi SPIE's #FacesofPhotonics is sharing the story of Rudzani (Mandy) Malabi. Rudzani is a biophotonics research student in the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) National Laser Centre. She is from Thohoyandou, a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Originally, Rudzani studied virology and discovered her interest in optics and photonics during her doctoral degree. She has always been an active member of the CSIR SPIE Student Chapter, and is currently vice president. Enjoy her interview! 1. Tell us about when you first became interested in optics and photonics. I first heard of optics and photonics when I applied to do my doctoral degree at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). I was fascinated by how light interacts with biological materials. I come from a virology background, but wanted to know more about light science. What better way to learn than actually doing a research project that involves optics and ph...

JESS WADE: Advocate, organizer, physicist SPIE's #FacesofPhotonics is sharing the story of Dr. Jess Wade, research associate at Imperial College London, SPIE Early Career Professional , collector of graphic T-shirts with a positive message , and longtime advocate of underrepresented communities in the STEM field. When she's not studying plastic electronics or helping to promote and organize amazing outreach events such as Pride of Physics , she writes and edits  Wikipedia pages of female scientists , showcasing their contributions to the field. This project, and others like it, are part of her overarching mission to attract more young girls to the sciences. Her most recent project involved raising over £20,000 to buy a copy of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Science that's Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini   for every secondary state school in the United Kingdom (and included a fun "Thank you" message from a certain Daniel Radcliff...

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 ...