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Annual Report

Joint SPIE and OSA student chapter

2016-17

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Table of Contents Chapter Officers .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Current Members ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Chapter Highlights ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Lightscapes: Art and Light Event, WUSTL ............................................................................. 5

SPIE Invited Lecturer ................................................................................................................ 5

OSA Invited Lecturer ................................................................................................................. 5

Graduate Student Seminars....................................................................................................... 6

Chapter Organization ................................................................................................................................. 6

Group Structure ......................................................................................................................... 6

Financial Information ................................................................................................................ 7

Events for 2015-16 ....................................................................................................................................... 7

1. Lightscapes: Art and Light Event ............................................................................................. 7

2. SPECTRA Graduate Student Seminars ................................................................................. 12

3. SPIE Invited Lecturer .............................................................................................................. 14

4. OSA Invited Lecturer ............................................................................................................... 16

5. Officer Travel Grants and Other Opportunities ................................................................... 18

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................ 20

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Chapter Officers

2016-2017 Chapter Officers

Advisor: Samuel Achilefu achilefus@mir.wustl.edu

President: Deep Hathi deep.hathi@wustl.edu

Vice-Presidents: Arefeh Sherafati arefeh@wustl.edu, Daniel Foust dfoust@wustl.edu,

and Zachary Markow zemarkow@wustl.edu

Secretary and Treasurer: Andy Daniel adaniel@wustl.edu

In-reach Coordinator: Arefeh Sherafati arefeh@wustl.edu

Outreach Coordinator: Daniel Foust dfoust@wustl.edu

2017-2018 Chapter Officers

Elections forthcoming on June 30, 2017. The new board will be sent out after that.

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Current Members

SPIE members with current dues paid

Jonathan Bumstead

Weijian Chen

Yujia Chen

Andy Daniel

Andrew Fishell

Daniel Foust

Rebecca Gilson

Huifeng Guan

Deep Hathi

Yun He

Steven Huang

Dolonchampa Maji

Zachary Markow

Thomas Matthews

Atahar Mostafa

Inema Orukari

Matthew Reisman

Linhua Xu

Weimin Zho

Spectra members (other than dues-paying SPIE members listed above)

Nathan Anderson Ashton Hemphill Inema Orukari

LeMoyne Habimana-Griffin Alex Holehouse Samuel Powell

Andrew Badachhape Simon Hsu Annie Pudvah

Reekhia Basu Steven Huang Megan Radyk

Adeline Bauder Deniz Ibrisim Ramesh Raliya

Karla Bergonzi S. Reza Jafarzadeh Ryan Rees

Beatrice Bertozzi Mengyi Jia Gerry Rivera

Tabbetha Bohac Qisheng Jiang Matt Rosene

Aimee Bryan Linda Johnson Sally (Fatemeh) Saadat

Jonathan Bumstead Dishant Khatri Luciano Santino

Tracy Burns-Yocum Jihye Kim John Schmidt

Anthony Cabrera Nathaniel King Nicole Seider

Nikhik Chandra James Ko Vipul Sharma

Po Hsu Chen Maiko Kume Steve Smith

Adam Clemens Yosuke Kurokawa Avik Som

Maria Coronelli Daniel Lane Jay Suo

Nan Cui William Lewis Chanez Symister

Babak Dehestani Nate Lin Sam Teeter

Elizabeth Delassus Wenbo Lin Arashdeep Thind

Tianben Ding Yutang Liu Tyson Todd

Keith Dyson Yan Liu Ashraf Ul Kabir

Nathan Endicott Madison Mack Hui Wang

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Andrew Fishell Dolonchampa Maji Geneva Williams

Daniel Foust Radoslav M. Marinov Benjamin Wolf

Mihika Gangolli Tushar Mathew Patrick Wright

Shengkui Gao Hesam Mazidi Shaul Yahil

Missael Garcia Darshit Mehta Dezhuang Ye

Jeanette Gehrig Jessica Miller Shuangyue Zhang

Cody Greer Ayan Mitra Fan Zhang

Dinesh Gupta Chuanfen Ni Nero Zhou

Spectra alumni

Tauseef Charanya

Silvina Ferradal

Mahlega Samira Hassanpour

Yang Liu

Vivak Shah

Metasebya Solomon

Elliot Lu

Mohammadreza Nasiriavanaki

Shengkui Gao

Chapter Highlights

Lightscapes: Art and Light Event, WUSTL

Spectra organized and hosted Lightscapes for the second time for Washington University and

St. Louis communities that featured light as art. This event drew over 30 submissions of

artwork from the Washington University community last year and 22 submissions this year.

The artwork demonstrated the intersection of science, technology, and art. Some of the work

included high-speed photography and hands-on musical exhibits in the laser harp and the light

dome. Lightscapes proved to be a highly entertaining and collaborative event with attendance

across the Washington University community.

SPIE Invited Lecturer

This year Spectra hosted Dr. David Giltner, an established career coach, speaker, and founder

of turningscience.com, as the annual SPIE invited lecturer. The event was tailored for graduate

students seeking guidance in non-academic career paths. Dr. Giltner discussed strategies for

transitioning from academia to industry and the required skills for success.

OSA Invited Lecturer

This year Spectra hosted Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, the founder and CEO of Openwater

(opnwatr.io) and the cofounder of One Laptop per Child, as its student-invited OSA lecturer.

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We used this opportunity to organize a lunch with Dr. Jepsen for the active members of Spectra

including the student lecturers. It was a unique opportunity for members to talk with a

successful woman in optics about her experience through her professional career.

Graduate Student Seminars

Spectra continued our successful collaboration that we started last year with the Imaging

Sciences Pathway (ISP) at WUSTL. This included a seminar series in the Fall 2016 semester

featuring the work of graduate students in Spectra and ISP as well as the research of new

faculty who have research grounded in imaging. These seminars provided a comfortable forum

for graduate students to network and discuss new imaging research.

Chapter Organization

Group Structure

As with previous years, our group held biweekly update meetings, with more frequent meetings

as needed. These meetings typically lasted 0.5-1.5 hours, and did not include refreshments, to

conserve funding for our larger events. Meeting frequency was increased prior to large events,

including Lightscapes and the invited lectures. Tasks, such as coordinating event logistics (in-

reach/outreach coordinator) with the schools and community centers, designing experiments (all

members), and ensuring availability of resources (secretary, treasurer) for events, were divided

among the executive board as per the Spectra constitution. Invited speakers were coordinated by

the Spectra president and the vice presidents. Spectra members who are not officers are informed

via email and flyers about events for their participation.

The Spectra board combines the SPIE and OSA chapter representation to maximize exposure to

the Washington University research community. Vice president positions are divided amongst the

individual groups comprising Spectra, with officers individually responsible for liaising with

SPIE, OSA, and ISP. This has allowed us to be more responsive to the needs of all three

organizations. In addition, the three vice presidents are better equipped to take on leadership roles

within Spectra. For example, the ISP liaison VP spearheaded the graduate student seminars while

the SPIE-liasing VP led the organization of the Lightscapes event. This leadership style allowed

multiple members to take on more responsibility while the Spectra president effectively led the

group as a whole and provided support to the vice presidents during smaller event planning.

Next year, we plan to continue outreach collaboration with Dr. Matthew Lew, a young and active

assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at Washington

University. Dr. Lew recently received an NSF Career Award, which included annual funding for

developing outreach events. Spectra is committed to providing logistical support and personnel to

Dr. Lew’s group to increase our outreach footprint within the greater St. Louis community. As part

of this collaboration, we are receiving training with the St. Louis Science Museum as part of the

NSF-funded Portal to the Public initiative. This program aims to provide professional training on

developing far-reaching outreach modules. These outreach modules will be deployed to our high

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school partners, as well as at larger scientific events at the St. Louis Science Museum, and at

middle and elementary schools within St. Louis. Spectra is also committing to continuing the

internal networking and collaborative activities, through our monthly graduate student-led

seminars and the annual Lightscapes event. Spectra seeks to build a large and diverse group within

the Washington University and St. Louis communities to increase and raise awareness of the

possibilities within the optics and photonics community.

Financial Information

Grants and expenditures (USD $ amounts, as of June 30, 2017)

Officer in Charge

or Funding

Organization Description Date Received Spent

Balance Forward from

FY2016* 8/19/2016 $1248.09

Arefeh Sherafati

Lightscapes Art Show,

Guest lectureship,

Workshop Winners 1/5/2017 $461.44

Daniel Foust Lightscapes Art Show 1/6/2017 $104.38

Zachary Markow

Lightscapes Art Show,

Guest Lectureship 1/6/2017 $123.36

Spectra Lightscapes Art Show 1/20/2017 $20.00

SPIE SPIE Activity Grant 1/24/2017 $900.00 0.00

OSA Officer Meetings Grant 3/20/2017 $450.00 0.00

Andy Daniel Guest Lectureship 4/25/2017 $158.16

Current Total Balance $1730.75

Additional awarded grants used before January 2017:

SPIE Officer Travel Grant for 2016

Events for 2016-17

1. Lightscapes: Art and Light Event

Following the success of Lightscapes in 2015-16, Spectra organized and hosted this event to raise

awareness of the optics and photonics research at Washington University. Lightscapes featured

artworks of many forms that integrated concepts of optics and photonics into each composition.

Artwork was submitted by a diverse group of students, post-docs, and faculty from various fields,

ranging from biology to engineering and physics. The event was well attended by over 80 members

of the Washington University community. Attendees enjoyed the integration of art and the physics

of optics and photonics in each piece. Hands-on exhibits also promoted learning and appreciation

of light in art.

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Figure 1. Program for Lightscapes: Art and Light Exhibit

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Figure 2. Flyers for Lightscapes were posted around both Washington University campuses.

The event was unique in that it was tailored to those in the biological sciences, engineering and

physics, and art community. Lightscapes featured 22 compositions and exhibits. The artwork

featured various compositions captured by various imaging methods, including confocal and

electron microscopy, and polarization photography. The laser harp, light dome, and long exposure

photography highlighted the hands-on exhibits. Food and beverages were also provided at the

event.

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Figure 3. Attendees at Lightscapes discuss the compositions on display.

This year, the Lightscapes review committee awarded two individuals for the high quality and

creativity of their artwork. These were Thomas Mahan (graduate student; Department of

Neuroscience) for presenting a piece called “A Compromised Vessel,” and Yang Lu (graduate

student; Department of Chemistry) for presenting “Dimer Flowers.”

Figure 4. The joint winner of the Lightscapes 2016: “A Compromised Vessel” by Thomas Mahan

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Figure 5. The joint winner of the Lightscapes 2016: “Dimer Flowers” by Yang Lu.

Lightscapes featured several exhibits, including a laser harp, light dome, eye camera, and long-

exposure photography. The long-exposure exhibit titled “Spectra of a Spectra” used long

exposures with a slow shutter speed camera to capture the movement of light in a single image.

This exhibit was popular among both adults and children.

Figure 6. Long exposure images captured lines of light as attendees traced bodies, spelled names, or made

designs in front of a camera with a slow shutter speed.

Figure 7. An attendee playing the Light Dome, the musical instrument built by Jonathan Bumstead

former vice president of Spectra. Lightscapes 2016.

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Figure 8. Dr. Samuel Achilefu, Spectra Adviser, discussing with Dr. Julio D’Arcy (Washington University

Department of Chemistry) about the artwork submitted by his lab members.

Lightscapes was well-received by members of Washington University and the greater St. Louis

community. Spectra aims to continue organizing this event in the future. Next year, we will aim to

further diversify our audience and submissions by engaging Washington University and St. Louis

area publications and early advertising to faculty and academic departments across the university.

2. SPECTRA Graduate Student Seminars

Spectra collaborated with ISP at Washington University to organize a seminar series during Fall

2016. The seminar series provides a platform for students across imaging disciplines to present

research, build collaborations, and receive informal feedback on their work. This year, we hosted

two seminars featuring novel research by graduate students and faculty. Our faculty seminar was

presented by Dr. Hongyu An, Associate Professor of Radiology and Associate Director of the

Center for Clinical Imaging Research at Washington University in St. Louis. These seminars were

attended by 10-25 graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty. Food and drink were

provided at each seminar, which promoted a relaxed and fun environment for students. To attract

a large and diverse audience, we alternated the seminar location between the medical and

undergraduate Washington University campuses. The medical campus mainly attracted biology

and medical students, while attendance at the undergraduate campus comprised of engineering and

physics students. Given the continuing success of the graduate student seminar series, we plan to

continue organizing graduate student seminars during the 2017-18 academic year. We will also

increase the frequency of this event and attract speakers through advertising to multiple academic

departments and other professional student groups.

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Speaker's Name Date Speaker's Level Speaker's Primary Department

Dr. Hongyu An 9/21/16 Associate Professor Radiology

Deep Hathi 10/26/16 PhD Student Biomedical Engineering

Kelsey Meinerz 10/26/16 PhD Student Physics

Figure 9. Flyer for the Graduate Student Seminar Series for the invited faculty lecturer.

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Figure 10. Kelsey Meinerz, PhD student in physics presenting her research at Spectra’s GSS event.

3. SPIE invited Lecturer

Spectra selected Dr. Giltner after an internal survey within the executive board over a list of

potential speakers. Dr. Giltner gave a strong and highly informative presentation on transitioning

from graduate school into future careers in academia and industry to an audience of over 50

students. This talk was hosted by Spectra in collaboration with Association of Women in Science

(AWIS), which assisted in advertising and attracting an audience across Washington university.

The lecture was held in the Department of Physics building and helped raise awareness of

networking strategies and necessary skillsets for sustained success after graduate school.

Dr. Giltner’s talk also touched on potential jobs that would be appealing to graduate students, while

discussing the differences in mindsets and goals in industry relative to academic research. Spectra

and AWIS hosted a complimentary happy hour following the lecture to promote networking with

the speaker and other students. This seminar provided critical insights on career transitions to

students and postdoctoral fellows. Following the success of this event, Spectra will continue to

host career-focused and networking seminars and events, with headlining speakers from diverse

backgrounds in academia, industry, and alternate careers.

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Figure 11. Flyers for Dr. Giltner’s talk were posted across Washington University. Additional advertisements

were posted through emails to all graduate students and postdoctoral mailing lists.

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Figure 12. Spectra president Deep Hathi, introducing Dr. David Giltner to the graduate student audience before

his talk in Washington University in St. Louis.

Figure 13. Discussion of Dr. Giltner with students in the happy hour following his talk. Sr. Giltner was sharing

his experiences in transitioning between his careers.

4. OSA invited Lecturer

Spectra was also honored to host Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen as its OSA invited lecturer. Among all of

her accomplishments, Dr. Jepsen is well known for being the co-founder of One Laptop per Child

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and her contributions to Oculus and founding Pixel Qi, and Openwater (opnwatr.io). Spectra used

this opportunity to make this visit beyond a single lecture. We arranged a lab tour for Dr. Jepsen

to the Optical Radiology Lab in Washington University in St. Louis, due to mutual research

interests and to encourage potential collaborations. We also arranged a lunch event with Dr. Jepsen

for selected active members and student lecturers of Spectra. The talk was also followed by a

happy hour, which gave the students the opportunity to talk to Dr. Jepsen in person and ask more

questions.

Figure 14. Flyers for Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen’s talk were posted around both Washington University campuses.

Additional advertisements were posted through emails to all students of Washington University in St. Louis.

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Figure 15. Spectra board with Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, the founder and CEO of Openwater (opnwatr.io) in her visit

to Washington University in St. Louis.

Figure 16. Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, the founder and CEO of Openwater (opnwatr.io), gives her invited lecture and

talks with graduate students, postdocs, and faculty during the following happy hour at Washington University in

St. Louis. 5. Officer Travel Grants and Other Opportunities

Arefeh Sherafati represented Spectra in the SPIE Student leadership workshop at SPIE 2016, San

Diego. Travel to the workshop was funded by generous support by SPIE through the Officer Travel

Grant. The workshop provided her with a unique opportunity to gain leadership and networking

skills required to further build the student chapter through recruitment and efficient event planning.

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Besides presenting Spectra’s poster in this conference, she won the first place for presenting our

chapter’s famous Lego microscope outreach activity in the 2016 SPIE Optics Outreach Games.

Our chapter greatly appreciated the travel grant and the opportunities for growth and networking

it provides to our members.

Figure 17. Arefeh Sherafati demonstrating the Lego Microscope in 2016 SPIE Optics Outreach Games, San

Diego.

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Conclusions

The 2016-2017 year was a highly productive year for Spectra and its members through several

established and new events and lectures. This year, Spectra focused on building a strong, diverse

network of researchers in the optics, photonics, and imaging fields at Washington University. We

achieved our goals for highlighting the growing opportunities in these fields in academic and

industry research by inviting successful and inspirational speakers to St. Louis and Washington

University community. The integration of the student body of ISP into our the SPIE and OSA

group has continued to strengthen and diversify our chapter. The seminar series hosted in

collaboration with ISP effectively connected graduate students from different disciplines and

created a relaxed, informal atmosphere to promote fruitful discussion about their research. Our

members have successfully planned several events throughout the year, including the graduate

student seminar series, Lightscapes, and the OSA and SPIE invited lectures. In addition to our

graduate-student specific activities, Spectra is continuing to expand our community outreach

activities to engage interest and promote understanding of optics, photonics, and imaging. These

events have helped establish Spectra within the imaging community at Washington University as

a highly collaborative and diverse network of students committed to providing a positive

environment for scientific and personal growth. During the 2017-2018 year, we will continue our

efforts in building Spectra as an integral member of the Washington University imaging

community and diversifying our outreach activities within the greater St. Louis region.