Photonics for a Better World

A BRIGHT MIND: Professor Clare Elwell  Meet Clare Elwell, Professor of Medical Physics at University College London (UCL), Director of the Near Infrared Spectroscopy Group in the Biomedical Optics Research Lab, and global health advocate. Among her students, Elwell is highly regarded as an inspiration to others in her department and an excellent supervisor. "When I mention that Clare is my supervisor," says UCL PhD Candidate Laura Katus, "people reliably respond along the lines of: ‘Really? She’s so cool!’ quite often followed by an ‘I want to be like her.’ What makes Clare such a fantastic supervisor, speaker, and group leader, is her ability to pitch whatever topic to precisely the right level, giving everyone in the room the feeling of being on eye level and an integral part of the academic mission." Elwell has dedicated herself to thinking outside the box when it comes to applications of her technology, specifically how it they can address global health...

LIGHTING THE WAY: Samuel Achilefu Recipient of the 2019 SPIE Britton Chance Award in Biomedical Optics; Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; 2019 SPIE BiOS Hot Topics keynote speaker: these are just a few of the titles currently held by Dr. Samuel Achilefu. Achilefu's research is changing the way we think about cancer therapy. Some cancer cells do not respond to traditional treatment, but Achilefu's team has found that if you stimulate those inactive cancer cells with light, they become responsive, providing surgeons with a more accurate path to removing the cancer. "I really believe we will be reaching a solution very soon," Achilefu commented. To read more about the SPIE Britton Chance Award and Achilefu's research, see the January  SPIE Professional article . In the meantime, please enjoy his interview with SPIE's Faces of Photonics! 1. How did you become interested in the opt...

Jonghee Yoon SPIE's #FacesofPhotonics is sharing the story of Jonghee Yoon. Jonghee is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge in Dr. Sarah Bohndiek’s VISIONLab. He is originally from South Korea, and his current research involves using hyperspectral imaging to identify and diagnosis oesophageal cancer. Enjoy the interview with Jonghee. 1. Tell us about when you first became interested in optics and photonics. When I was a high-school student, I had a great opportunity to attend a summer camp held in South Korea's Postech University. The camp program introduced various research areas, and provided lab tours to students. ⠀ One of laboratories I visited was doing biochemical research. The researchers showed me microscopic images of a chicken eggshell captured by scanning electron microscopy. At that time I had no idea about optics and microscopy, but I was hooked on the microscopic images. Since then I have become interested in microscopic imaging and op...

2018 Hillenkamp Fellow Haley Marks with the first prototypes of the oxygen-sensing hydrogels, developed in collaboration with BU Winning the inaugural $75,000 SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp Postdoctoral Fellowship in Problem-Driven Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics has had its fair share of notable impact on Haley Marks' life and profession. The fellowship, which supports and provides opportunities for translating new technologies to clinical practice for improving human health was awarded for the first time in January 2018 at SPIE Photonics West . "I actually found out that I won in December, just as I was getting ready to fly home for the holidays," she recalls. "I was packing when I got a call from Rox Anderson, the director of our center, the Wellman Center for Photomedicine , congratulating me, and I got all flustered. I swung by the lab on the way to the airport to celebrate the news with my mentor, Dr. Conor Evans, and our colleagues, and ended up missing m...

Who knew … until last year: Three African-American women working — in obscurity — for NASA as mathematicians played a vital role in the mission that sent astronaut John Glenn into orbit around Earth and brought him back again, in 1962. Publication of Margot Lee Shetterly 's book Hidden Figures and the subsequent release of the acclaimed 2016 film brought the story of the important roles played by Katherine Johnson , Dorothy Vaughan , and Mary Jackson to light for the first time for many. Among key findings in a 2017 photonics industry survey, respondents cited higher percentages of men in management and senior academic positions, with the largest gaps in later career. While their story may have been little known for decades, struggles for opportunity and inclusion are familiar to many women and to members of under-represented minorities or other groups working to make a career in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field. Findings on ...

Optics and photonics technologies are at work improving our lives in many ways. These technologies are what provide sustainable lighting and energy-generation systems. Nanoparticles are used to rapidly diagnose disease or derive 3D images of living, functioning cells. Optical resonators detect counterfeit or pirated goods. Airborne telescopes probe deep into the Universe while optical fibers send messages instantly across the globe. Engineers and scientists from around the world meet every August at SPIE Optics + Photonics in San Diego to advance research in several broad areas of optics and photonics. A few of the 3,000+ researchers who will present reports next week have provided previews via articles they have authored recently for the SPIE Newsroom. “ Multicolor rapid diagnostics for infectious disease ,” Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, Chunwan Yen, Helena de Puig, José Goméz-Marquéz, Irene Bosch and Lee Gehrke [ref. 9923-28, Tuesday 30 August, 9 a.m.] Recent epidemic o...

The first 60 years of SPIE's history have seen amazing advances, but what will photonics enable in the next 60 years? SPIE Student Chapter leaders will be among those creating the future. Several shared their visions recently at SPIE Optics + Photonics. Sixty years ago, in 1955, the world had not yet seen the first laser -- it had not yet been invented. Fiber optics were brand new, there were no artificial satellites circling the Earth, no humans had been in space, and the first solar cell was in early stages of development as was the first video recording machine. Smartphone? How can a phone be "smart"? In that environment, a group of engineers working in optics and optoelectronics to build the first scientific cameras gathered in a restaurant in Hollywood, California, to discuss a shared challenge. They needed to use high-speed photography to solve design issues and create capabilities in industries from aerospace to communications and to advance research. ...

Being an ambassador for the International Year of Light is easy -- and we hear that it's fun as well. Solving the challenges of the 21st century will depend as much on photonics as the 20th century's solutions depended on electronics. Particles of light are the key ingredients for science and technology, from smartphones to medical imaging to synchrotrons. The United Nations’ International Year of Light initiative will show the world how optical and photonic technologies are vital to their futures and development of the whole society. Some very big names have already gotten behind the initiative, and will be investing much time and considerable money in the effort. In addition to several professional societies who are Founding Partners , two companies and a professional society have signed on as Patrons, and a very long list of companies, research institutes, publications, universities, and associations are giving their support as well. Even the Duke of Y...

For 10 years since its founding, the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle has been working toward a greater understanding of the brain, "inspired by the quest to uncover the essence of what makes us human," according to its website. It's a timely quest, given the "big neuroscience" efforts around the world -- including the Human Brain Project in Europe and the BRAIN Initiative in the United States. SPIE Newsroom video interview with Michael Hawrylycz People are working on many fronts to learn about the brain and treat its injuries and disorders. Photonics is a key tool in this effort. A recent SPIE Newsroom visit to the institute resulted in this video interview with Michael Hawrylycz , an investigator and director of the Modeling, Analysis, and Theory Group. If you haven't seen the video, it's worth a look in light of the publication, on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's announcement of the BRAIN Initiative, of two ...