Angela Dudley
University of Witwatersrand, South AfricaFor foundational contributions to the all-digital control of structured light, and for outstanding service to the international optics community.
Angela Dudley was always interested in math and science. She excelled in these subjects in school and grew more confident in her skills as she progressed through her education. As a child, she enjoyed making things and exploring how things worked, indicating, as she says, “an analytical and investigative mindset.” She completed a bachelor's degree in general science and finished her fourth-year research project on optics specifically. Angela reflects, “I chose this because I wanted to do a project involving a mix between experiment and theory. Optics is one of the most visual and tangible experiments you can do in physics.” She completed her master's and PhD in physics, which led to her current career path.
Initially, her particular research area was more focused on generating and measuring orbital angular momentum in optical fields. This field is widely varied and continues to expand to new applications. As she has grown and learned more about the field, she has become more interested in application spaces to measure birefringence, creating exotic polarization structures, and trying to apply this to other laser sources like diodes. She comments, “This is often a natural progression when one investigation stems into further research questions.”
Angela now works in the field of structured light, which she explains “involves controlling light’s spatial degrees of freedom such as its polarization, amplitude, and phase. By shaping the amplitude and phase of the light, we can change the intensity profile of the light in real-time.” In the lab, this means utilizing holography to complete the experiments, an older but time-proven technique. Angela enjoys implementing her ideas into her research process and seeing those ideas realized. She embraces the complexities of her work and finds the need to circle back for deeper inspection extremely rewarding. Angela describes her idea of a great scientist as someone who has good ideas and can execute those ideas utilizing strong networking skills and teamwork. She clearly embodies these characteristics in her own work.
Optica has played an essential role in Angela’s career since she was a student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. She formed a student chapter there and had terrific experiences organizing an IONS event, contacting and working with world-renowned researchers. Angela continues to be an active volunteer for and participant in Optica’s programs. Notably, she’s been involved in almost every area of the Society, from awards to meetings and publications to membership. Her relationship with Optica has allowed her to establish a valuable network of peers, stay updated on the latest technical advancements, and share her own research with the world.
Angela advises young scientists to find an enthusiastic mentor who can challenge and teach them about all aspects of science, from solid research skills to writing grant proposals. She was fortunate to have a few mentors throughout her career whose open-door policies helped her make connections. Actively participating in academic societies as a student is a great way to connect with potential mentors, as is taking the initiative and contacting researchers whose work you admire. Angela also shares advice she was given that she still finds helpful today: “Look for opportunities and capitalize on them. This often leads to further opportunities and new ventures. I have found that if you are given a task and execute it well, you will be remembered for additional opportunities and roles. But at the same time, remember not to overcommit yourself with too many tasks.”
Photo courtesy of Angela Dudley
Profile written by Samantha Hornback
