| Image Credit: Getty Images |
| Spotlight on SciComm |
Scientists are often at their most comfortable at the lab bench or behind a computer screen. Yet increasingly, they need to roam outside of that comfort zone, and talk about their work to diverse audiences—journalists, policy makers, the public at large. And as Sam Illingworth, the coauthor of Effective Science Communication, told Optica’s Optics & Photonics News (OPN) in an interview earlier this year, much of effective science communication comes down to understanding and empathizing with the audience. “You need to be a good speaker,” he says, “but I think with all kinds of science communication, you need to be a really good listener.”
As the world faces increasing challenges, the stakes of good science communication will only grow. Optica Fellow John Dudley noted in a separate OPN Q&A that communication lies at the heart of the project of building trust in science among the public at large. “Individual scientists can often have a real impact when they speak up,” Dudley says. “But they have to learn how to be persuasive, and explain why their expertise should be trusted.” |
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| Image Courtesy of: Uma Maheswari Rajagopalan |
| What first interested you in pursuing science? |
| Of all the sciences, physics attracted me for its reasoning. When I entered college, I was rather attracted to becoming a bureaucrat, to be directly involved in society, which changed on entering my graduate school. I was drawn into the beauty and elegance of physics, especially optics, which drove me to specialize in optical technology. |
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| Biophotonics Congress |
| Present your research at the Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics. Five topical meetings from Optical Coherence Tomography to Microscopy, Histopathology and Analytics. This hybrid (in person and virtual) event is held 24 – 27 April 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Submission Due 14 December. |
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High-Brightness Sources:
From X-Ray to Mid-IR |
| Are you conducting innovative research in high-brightness sources, attosecond science, light-driven interactions and mid-IR laser technologies? Submit a paper by 21 December for consideration to present. The meeting is held 23 – 25 March 2022, in Budapest, Hungary. |
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| 2021 Outstanding Reviewers |
| Optica Publishing Group’s Outstanding Reviewer recognition is given annually to commend the top reviewers for their outstanding peer review efforts over the past year. Recipients were selected by Editors-in-Chief from scores of nominations from around the globe. We thank them for their vital contributions! Click below to view the 2021 Outstanding Reviewers |
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 Golshan Coleiny,
Founder, Fundamental Optical Solutions |
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| Spotlight—Women in Industry |
| Spotlight—Women in Industry is a monthly article highlighting emerging and seasoned female Optica Corporate Members in which we ask both professional and personal questions. This month features Golshan Coleiny, Founder, Fundamental Optical Solutions. If you would like to be featured in this section, please email industry@optica.org for more information. |
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| Optica Fellow Spotlight |
| 2016 Fellow Nobuyuki Hashimoto was inspired to pursue science by the Apollo 11 moon landing and a Japanese animation called “Mighty Atom.” Learn more about Nobuyuki here. |
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