SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering has hired Karin Burger to open and staff its European satellite office in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Headquartered in Bellingham, Washington USA, SPIE saw a need for a presence closer to many of its members and meeting venues, especially considering that approximately half of the 27 international meetings SPIE will hold in 2001 will be outside the US.
Burger is responsible for providing services to European SPIE members, working with the growing optics and photonics community in Europe, and informing and interacting with organization leaders and Society partners. She will also play a key role in meeting venue selection and meeting logistics. Most recently, Burger served as a senior project coordinator with Whitbread Walker, now a division of Western Mail & Echo Limited in Cardiff. Prior to her work with Whitbread Walker, Ms. Burger was a project manager for Direct Communications GmbH in Berlin and a secretary with Spectrum Communications GmbH in Bonn. Ms. Burger is fluent in German, French, and English.
“Much of the SPIE membership and leadership is based in Europe which has a long history of innovation and application of optical science and engineering. Ms. Burger's presence provides them with a local link to SPIE,” said Eugene Arthurs, SPIE Executive Director.