Spotlight on inspiring the next generation of scientists and business leaders.
OSA (The Optical Society) Student Chapters are located at more than 200 leading institutions around the world. Organized and directed by bright, energetic, and highly motivated students, these groups conduct a wide range of academic and professional networking activities, including youth education outreach to their local communities. In a unique program designed to help organizations build stronger relationships with OSA’s Student Chapters, Coherent, Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of lasers and laser-based solutions, is offering financial support to six Chapters in Brazil, China, and India. The sponsorship, part of the OSA Foundation’s (OSAF) “Adopt a Student Chapter Program,” will also allow Student Chapter members to build relationships with professional staff at Coherent, Inc.
“Coherent is happy to partner with the OSA Foundation to provide an opportunity to further enrich the next generation of optics professionals,” said Marco Arrigoni, Coherent, Inc. Director of Marketing. “We at Coherent are glad to support these students and their work. We are confident this new program will provide them with even more opportunities to excel as they pursue careers in optics and photonics.”
Each Student Chapter in the program is eligible for three sets of grants for activities in 2011: an Activity Grant
will provide funding for student-organized professional development programs such as career networking sessions or workshops; a Leadership Travel Grant will cover the cost of travel and related expenses for a representative from the Chapter to attend the 2011 OSA Student Leadership Conference at OSA’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics in San Jose, CA; and a Traveling Lecturer Grant will provide funding for a guest lecturer to visit each school to deliver a technical presentation to chapter members.
The 2011 Coherent-sponsored OSA Student Chapters are:
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Brazil
- Tsinghua University, China
- Zhejiang University, China
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi), India
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras), India
“OSA Student Chapters represent some of the brightest young minds in optics and photonics around the world,” said OSA Foundation chair Michael Morris. “We are pleased that Coherent chose the OSA Foundation and the OSA Student Chapters to support optics on an international scale and look forward to seeing relationships between the Chapters and both organizations grow.”
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to make a lasting difference in the academic and professional lives of post-secondary and graduate students by “adopting” chapters. To learn more, please contact the OSA Foundation at: [email protected].
Coherent, Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of lasers and laser-based solutions. Founded in 1966, the company designs, manufactures, and markets laser sources, laser tools, accessories, and components for a wide range of markets and applications. In addition to laser sources and tools, Coherent, Inc. also offers leading-edge beam forming and beam guidance systems, as well as laser beam measurement and control equipment. Products are used in a wide range of markets and applications: microelectronics (including semiconductor test and measurement, advanced packaging, production of flat panel displays, and solar cells); materials processing; instrumentation for biotechnology and medical imaging; graphic arts and display; and, of course, in advanced engineering, genetics, biology, chemistry, and physics. The company’s ongoing work with integrators, end users, and researchers creates greater efficiency and productivity today, as well as insights that will lead to technological breakthroughs in the future. Such advancements in laser technology and their impact on commerce, industry, and scientific research have been the hallmark of Coherent, Inc.’s business for over 40 years.
The OSA Foundation (OSAF) was established in 2002 to support philanthropic activities that help further the Optical Society's (OSA) mission by concentrating its efforts on programs that advance youth science education, provide optics and photonics education to underserved populations, provide career and professional development resources, and support awards & honors that recognize technical and business excellence. The grants funded by the OSA Foundation are made possible by the generous donations of its supporters as well as the dollar-for-dollar match from OSA. For more information, visit www.osa-foundation.org.
Uniting more than 106,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916, OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups, and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.
GRACE KLONOSKI is the Senior Director, Foundation, Membership & Education Services for the Optical Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036; e-mail: [email protected]; www.osa-foundation.org.