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August 2020
Vol. 34, No. 4
www.PhotonicsSociety.org
Multicore Fiber Now Closer to Enter Telecommunications
Market than Ever
Also Inside:
• Improved IEEE Author Center & IEEE AuthorLab Tools
• IEEE Photonics Society Selects the 2020 Distinguished Service Recipient
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August 2020 Volume 34, Number 4
FEATURE
Industry Highlight��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5
–– Multicore Fiber Now Closer to Enter Telecommunications Market than Ever
12 Industry Engagement����������������������������������������������������������������������������������8
• Life at a Photonics Startup: Lessons Learned
Get to Know Your IEEE Photonics Society Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Photonics Worldwide—This is My Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
• Improved IEEE Author Center & IEEE AuthorLab Tools
• IEEE Day 2020 Events Will Be Virtual
Careers and Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
• IEEE Photonics Society Selects the 2020 Distinguished Service Recipient
• Election of Board of Governors Candidates
• Distinguished Lecturer Selection for 2020-21
16 • Call for Nominations: IEEE Technical Field Awards and Eric Herz Staff Award
Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
• What’s Next with Photonics Outreach in Kenya?
• The University of Warsaw’s Student Branch Chapter Online Transformation
• IDL 2020 Virtual Symposium: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
• IEEE COVID-19 HUB: IEEE On the Front Lines
• COVID-19: Pre-University & STEM Outreach Resources Available
Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
• vPVSC: Virtual 2020 IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference
• BIGGS 2020
Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
• JSTQE CFP: Biophotonics
19 • JSTQE CFP: Nanobiophotonics
• JSTQE CFP: Semiconductor Lasers
• JSTQE CFP: Hybrid Integration for Silicon Photonics
• JSTQE CFP: Machine Learning in Photonic Communications and
Measurement Systems
• PTL: IEEE Photonics Conference 2020
• JOCN: Machine Learning Applied to QoT Estimation in Optical Networks
COLUMNS
Editor’s Column . . . . . . . . . . 2 President’s Column . . . . . . . . . . . 3
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 1
Editor’s IEEE Photonics Society
Column
NICOLAS FONTAINE
President National Autonomous University of
Carmen Menoni Mexico
I hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic. Colorado State University USA Circuito Exterior s / n, Ciudad
Phone: 970-491-8659/555 Universitaria,
This summer has been very strange for me due to a com- Email: c.menoni@ieee.org AP 70-360; Coyoacán,
Mexico City 04510, Mexico
bination of three things that have seemed to eliminate Past President Email: jhcordero@iim.unam.mx
any productivity; the pandemic forcing us to socially dis- Chennupati Jagadish
Associate Editor of Asia & Pacific
Australian National University
tance, our labs moving, and supervising a toddler at the Canberra, Australia
Nicholas H. L. Wong
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd.
house. I’ve gotten very little real work done even though Ph: +61-2-61250363 60 Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2
Email: ChennupatiJagadish@anu Singapore 738406
I have been “working” all the time. We are nearly 70% .edu.au Email: n.hl.wong@ieee.org
complete with our move, and I’m looking forward to the Secretary-Treasurer Associate Editor of Northern Europe
days when I am productive again! Dan M. Marom Martin Lavery
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Engineering
The industry highlight is provided by InPhoTech, a School of Engineering Rankine Building
University of Glasgow
fiber company in Poland. They are developing novel fi- Edmund Safra Campus
Oakfield Avenue
Jerusalem, Israel 91904
bers to increase the capacity of future optical networks. Tel: + 972 2 658 4851 G12 8LT
Martin.Lavery@glasgow.ac.uk
The industry engagement column, “Life at a Photon- Email: danmarom@mail.huji.ac.il
Associate Editor of Southern Europe
ics Startup” is provided by John MacDonald. It provides Board of Governors
Ivana Gasulla
N. Fontaine A. Peacock
some great insight into how demand is created and the ITEAM Research Institute
M. Hutchinson S. Ralph Universitat Politècnica de València
responsibility of industry to create demand and provides A. Kasukawa M. Sander Camino de Vera, 46022 Valencia
M. Mashanovitch S. Savory Spain
numerous historical examples! Thanks to Daniel Renner N. Nishiyama M. Suzuki Email: ivgames@iteam.upv.es
for running this column and John for contributing! L. Oxenlowe J. Yao
Student Editor
The get to know your Photonics Society leadership Vice Presidents Naznin Akter
Conferences—Perry Shum INSYST Integrated Nanosystems
features Fatima Garcia-Gunning. She is the VP of Mem- Finance & Admin—Xiuling Li Research Laboratory
Electrical and Computer Engineering,
bership of the Society and is a Senior Staff Researcher at Membership & Regional
EC-3975
Activities—Fatima Garcia-Gunning
Tyndall University. Our student editor, Naznin Akter, Publications—Aaron Hawkins Florida International University
10555 W Flagler Street.
helps put these together! Technical Affairs—Lesile Ann Rusch
Miami, FL 33174
The Photonics Worldwide column is run by our stu- Newsletter Staff Email: nakte001@fiu.edu
Editor-in-Chief Student Editor
dent editor, Senta Jantzen. This issue features three young Senta L. Jantzen
Nicolas Fontaine
professionals, Angeles Camacho from the University of Nokia Bell Laboratories Optoelectronics Research Centre
791 Holmdel Rd, Holmdel, NJ 07733 University of Southampton
Southampton, Shaimaa Ali, a lecturer at the Zewail City Southampton
732-888-7262
of Science and Technology in Egypt, and Grace Kuo a Email: nicolas.fontaine@nokia.com
SO17 1BJ, UK
Email: s.jantzen@soton.ac.uk
Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley. Associate Editor of Australia Staff Editor
We are always looking for new content for the news- Joel Carpenter Lisa Sandt
The University of Queensland Australia IEEE Photonics Society
letter. If you have something you would like to show off Brisbane St Lucia, QLD 4072 445 Hoes Lane
such as a new lab, exciting results, exciting conference, Email: j.carpenter@uq.edu.au Piscataway, NJ 08854
Tel: 1 732 465 6662
or even some funny experience please reach out to us! Associate Editor of Central, Latin and Fax: 1 732 981 1138
South American Email: ipsnewsletter@ieee.org
Juan A. Hernandez Cordero
Institute of Materials Research
Department of Rheology and
Mechanics of Materials
IEEE prohibits discrimination, harassment, and
bullying. For more information, visit http://www.
ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/policies/p9-26.html.
IEEE Photonics Society News (USPS 014-023) is published bimonthly
by the Photonics Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc., Corporate Office: 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New
York, NY 10017-2394. Printed in the USA. One dollar per member per
year is included in the Society fee for each member of the Photonics
Society. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional
mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Photonics
Society Newsletter, IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854.
Copyright © 2020 by IEEE: Permission to copy without fee all or part
of any material without a copyright notice is granted provided that
the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial
advantage, and the title of the publication and its date appear on
each copy. To copy material with a copyright notice requires spe-
cific permission. Please direct all inquiries or requests to IEEE
Copyrights Office.
2 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020
President’s
Column
CARMEN S. MENONI
In my career as an educator, I have greeted freshmen and four tinuing education from across IEEE. There are more than 600
years down the road attended their graduations. I have active- educational courses available, free and at-cost. If you are look-
ly recruited graduate students and mentored them through- ing to advance your career, refresh your skills, or just curious
out graduate school into post-graduation and the job search. about the latest trends, ILN has helpful content. The IEEE
In either case, I have sensed how some students find it harder Photonics Society was one of the initial Societies to support the
than others to become ‘part of a team’ and transition beyond foundation of this platform.
the classroom. All of us, at a certain point in our career, when Moreover, the IEEE has rolled out extended online offer-
we start a new job or a new activity, have to break barri- ings to improve the organization’s IEEE Author Center to help
ers in our behavior to integrate. Self-confidence goes a long new authors navigate publishing at this time and recruit new
way in furthering your career, and volunteering provides the volunteer reviewers. The Center now has a section for new
outlet to improve this valuable trait. So, an important part authors, a new look and feel, and improved search capability,
of our profession is to help students and future innovators making finding what you’re looking for easier than ever. The
of tomorrow feel welcome, empowered and become engaged website is a one-stop resource for all IEEE authors and editors,
both technically and professionally. This is also a goal of the offering tailored insight for those publishing in journals, con-
IEEE Photonics Society that “strives to provide its members ferences, books, and magazines. Since its launch, the IEEE Au-
in varying stages of careers with opportunities to grow pro- thor Center has helped over 1 million authors worldwide learn
fessionally and technically.” how to publish with IEEE. More information can be found at
To accomplish this goal, the Society has created programs ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org and any questions can be sent to the
that include activities such as peer-to-peer connections, con- IEEE Author Engagement team at authors@ieee.org.
tinuing education and volunteering opportunities. Browsing To grow our community, a research center database where
through the Membership & Outreach, Education & Careers and members and volunteers can actively search for photonics cen-
Chapters & Communities webpages one could get a glimpse of ters and institutions was also added to our website. Our hope
all the opportunities the Society has implemented to target the is that this resource will assist our volunteers and student chap-
professional development of its members, at every level. ters to facilitate academic exchange. If you would like your
Through its extensive engagement programs, the IEEE Pho- institution or research center added to this map, please visit
tonics Society provides opportunities to students and young pro- our website at PhotonicsSociety.org.
fessionals to participate at conferences, to present papers and to Furthermore, chapters have the opportunity to invite cur-
interact with its members. In particular, the Mentor Match pro- rent IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished Lecturers (DLs) to
gram at the IEEE Photonics Society annual meeting, and other give virtual talks at their chapter meetings or local conferences.
sponsored conferences, provides a one-on-one link between a stu- A new class of DLs was recently announced, including Gabri-
dent or young professional and an established professional to dis- ella Cincotti (University Roma Tre), Zetian Mi (University of
cuss issues that range from specific technical questions to career Michigan, Ann Arbor), Shilong Pan (Nanjing University of
goals. Owing to the impediments that COVID-19 has imposed Aeronautics and Astronautics, China), Unil Perera (Georgia
in limiting personal interactions, it is even more pressing to sup- State University), Federico Rosei (INRS-EMT), and Zeev Za-
port our members and facilitate engagement within the photon- levsky (Bar-Ilam University). To request a Distinguished Lec-
ics community. Therefore, the Society has expanded the mentor turer for an upcoming event, review the list of Distinguished
program through an eMentor Match and Mentor Hour Meetups. Lecturers’ various talks on the Society website and reach out
I have been fortunate to participate in one of the “Mentor to the lecturer directly by email. Distinguished Lecturers are
Hour Meetups” through WebEx that specifically spotlighted volunteers of the Society, not full-time staff. Meaning, lectur-
career options. It was very well attended with students and ers determine their speaking arrangements and time commit-
young professionals from several continents, with all absolute- ments around their individual, work-life balance schedules.
ly engaged. We are also offering a series of webinars presented I have been lucky to serve as a DL in the past, which was a
by experts covering broad topics in Photonics and e-learning rewarding experience I will always treasure. I encourage our
courses on state-of-the-art Photonics technologies and meth- chapters to seek out the lecturers, as the technical, industrial
ods. For example, in partnership with IEEE Educational Activ- and/or entrepreneurial contributions shared are unparalleled.
ities, the IEEE Photonics Society has fully launched an eLearn- The IEEE Photonics Society is aware that engaging diverse
ing Course program, “Finite Element Method for Photonics.” talent into our field needs to start early on as well, thus it
The program includes (5) modules on numerical approaches for has established Pre-University Outreach programs that offer
practical modelling and simulation. resources to members to perform K-12 outreach instructions
The course is featured on the IEEE Learning Network with students and educators. This effort showcases how fasci-
(ILN), which is an online, ad-hoc website for discovering con- nating it is to work with light and the broad impact photonics
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 3
technologies have on our daily lives. Our hope is to help par- roles, for example, with conferences or publications. If you
ents and teachers with remote learning options during this are a young professional interested in serving, you can com-
global pandemic. Kits are currently available on a first-come- plete a Volunteer & Speaker Database intake form (http://bit
first-serve basis. More information can be found here: https:// .ly/2Ok6awP). The IEEE Young Professionals affinity group,
bit.ly/30wOcdT of the parent IEEE, has also launched a new µVolunteering
The Society also has an active Young Professionals program platform to help facilitate micro-volunteering. The hope is to
whose goal is provide young professionals, up to 15 years post retain engaged members who have less time to serve as well
their first degree, with resources to evaluate their career goals, as enable project- and skill-based volunteering. More informa-
refine their skills and grow a professional network. There tion will come on this platform in the coming months, after
are ample opportunities to volunteer and take on leadership its initial testing stage. We have dedicated volunteer leaders
participating in the launch.
Paramount to our membership efforts is to expand the diver-
sity of the photonics community by increasing participation of
women and marginalized people in Science, Technology, Engi-
neering and Mathematics (STEM). The IEEE Women in Pho-
tonics program achieves this by actively promoting activities
that support the participation, engagement and advancement
of women. A recent example, is a “Wiki Needs Women,” co-
sponsored event with The Optical Society (OSA), that focused
on training members as editors on Wikipedia and creating new
profiles on prominent women engineers in photonics. To date,
over 80 new profiles have been drafted, created and updated.
Additionally, the IEEE Photonics Society is “committed to
providing equal opportunity to scientists and engineers, re-
gardless of ethnicity, race, nationality, disability, socioeconomic
status, sexual orientation, religion, gender, age, and/or personal
identity.” Our policy is to continually
improve our practices in order to build
and maintain an environment that re-
flects the rich diversity of the photon-
ics and optics scientific community.
To reaffirm our mission, the Society’s
leadership is working closely with
other social impact organizations in
STEM who directly focus on diversity
and inclusion practices. We have met
with our partners the National Society
of Black Physicists (NSBP) to discuss
a Sister Society Agreement and future
collaborations, like a Historically Black
Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Sym-
posium, Mentoring Across Differences
programs, ‘Industry Inspires’ Diversity
efforts, showcases at the IEEE Photon-
ics Conference, etc.
In 2019, Membership Council es-
tablished the ‘Change Champion’ Pro-
gram that showcases volunteers and
leaders facilitating positive change and
empowering others in the photonics
community, in particular by strongly
advocating for diversity and inclusion.
There has been a series of talks curat-
ed over the last few months, such as
“The Role of Social Networks: Build-
The IEEE Photonics Society is offering a variety of online programs and webinars presented ing Community” and “ Champion
by experts covering broad topics in Photonics, e-learning courses on state-of-the-art Photonics
methods, Wiki Edit-a-thons and eMentor Matches. (continued on page 16)
4 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020
Industry Highlight
Multicore Fiber Now Closer to Enter
Telecommunications Market than Ever
T.Tenderenda, A.Bortnowski, Innovations Photonics Technology Poland and
P. Urban, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland,
Department of Optical Telecommunications and Photonics, university professor;
also InPhoTech as the Business and Technology Development Manager.
COVID-19 Impact on Communication
Network Systems Table 1. Superposition of traffic change and download speed
During the last few months, we have observed a significant rise change [https://www.fastly.com/blog/how-covid-19-is-affecting
-internet-performance].
in Internet traffic and bandwidth usage.
After the pandemic countermeasures, like social distancing Country Traffic Change [%] DL Speed Change [%]
and stay-at-home policies including working from home, were France + 38,4 − 13,9
introduced, usage of the Internet spiked and rose on average by Italy + 109,3 − 35,4
about +50% worldwide. Japan + 31,5 + 9,7
However, despite this significant rise, we, as a population, United + 39,4 −8
have not faced major issues with our Internet connections that Kingdom
could have resulted from the network being overloaded. Never-
theless we should take into account that this was mainly due to
limitations imposed on data usage and the effort made by Inter- operators who look first and foremost at cost-efficiency. SDM
net providers (e.g. Netflix has lowered the quality of streaming makes use of multiple cores and/or modes as separate ‘spatial’
to decrease data usage). channels in a single fiber. Thus, now optical fibers can fol-
In order to ensure that the negative effect on quality of In- low the trend towards miniaturization and integration, well-
ternet services is minimized in the future, we need to get our known from the electronics domain.
communication networks ready to the support (Fig. 1), seam- This technology is recognized as the most efficient way
less shift from on-location to online working habits. to meet the challenge of increasing the capacity of commu-
The transition to work-from-anywhere standards has also nication networks without increasing the amount of cable
shown that a quick migration to 5G technologies and getting while simultaneously reducing installation costs. SDM can
ready for the Beyond-5G era is more crucial than ever. Despite be realized in two ways. Firstly, Mode-Division Multiplex-
the fact that network companies have coped with the increased ing (MDM), uses modes in a Few- or Multi-Mode Fiber (FMF
broadband demand quite well1, there is still a diagnosed bot- or MMF, respectively) as separate channels. This strategy
tleneck in metro-access and access networks, where capacity has brought about several remarkable capacity records (e.g.,
is scarce due to insufficient transmission technologies, poor 351 PB/s*km2 or 166 PB/s*km Pb/s3). However, these net-
coverage or high cost of broadband access roll-out or upgrade. works require massive Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output
(MIMO) techniques and advanced Digital Signal Processing
Spatial Division Multiplexing (DSP), which requires huge computing power and offline pro-
Once the transmission capacity of current fiber-optic installa- cessing. Secondly, by applying the SDM approach to single-
tions has been exploited, e.g. by means of advanced modula- mode cores (multicore single-mode fibers), one can omit the
tion formats (while keeping economics reasonable), the next costly DSP and profit from all the advantages of the existing
most obvious way to increase the capacity of optical fiber sys- networks. Although at first glance, MDM may appear to be
tems is to deploy cables with higher fiber counts. However, a the future of telecommunication, the industry has its sights
less evident problem is starting to emerge. Especially in high- set on other technologies by which better transmission capac-
density urban areas, the existing infrastructure is not capable ity can be achieved in a more cost-effective manner.
of accommodating a larger number of optical fiber cables, and
rolling out new duct infrastructure may be unviable. Commercial Multi-Core Fibers
One of the new promising approaches for rethinking com- within Reach?
munication systems is called Space-Division Multiplexing The standardization society, i.e. mainly the International Tele-
(SDM)—well-known in the scientific world, but which may communication Union (ITU), has set a roadmap to develop
not be mature enough for network infrastructure providers and recommendations for SDM systems and components in the
1
https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/cisco-s-wollenweber-tracks-covid 2
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/nioi-wrt040220.php
-19-s-impact-networks-using-peering-points 3
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-fiber-transmission.html.
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 5
125 France 60,000 125 Italy
y 125,000
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
100 100
100,000
75 75
40,000
Change (%)
Change (%)
50 50
0 75,000
25 25 50,000
20,000
0 0
25,000
–25 –25
–50 0 –50
0 0
26
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.9
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5
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125 United Kingdom 30,000 125 Japan 2,000
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
100 100
75 75 1,500
2
20,000
Change (%)
Change (%)
50 50
1,000
25 25
10,000
0 0 500
–25 –25
–50 0 –50
27
.2
.6
0
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Cases Download Speed Chnage % Download Speed Chnage %
Figure 1. How COVID-19 affects network traffic. [https://www.fastly.com/blog/how-covid-19-is-affecting-internet-performance]
c oming years. This, together with direct insights
from network deployment companies, fueled In-
PhoTech’s strategy to develop a viable multi-core
fiber that can be readily interfaced with legacy
installations without any changes to active equip-
ment in the field. The technology optimization for
up-scaled production is being performed under the
EU SME Instrument-funded project called IPT-
CORE. InPhoTech was one of the few companies
in Europe to be granted such funding last year—
96 projects received funding out of 2025 propos- 7.9 mm 7.9 mm
als submitted (Fig. 2). 144×SMF = 144 Cores 144×MCF7 = 1,008 Cores
(a) (b)
The IPT-CORE fiber has a standard diameter
and contains 7 separated cores. In our approach,
each single-mode core is in compliance with the Figure 2. a) Fiber optic cable with SMFs b) Fiber optic cable with IPT Core.
ITU-T G.652 recommendation so that well-devel-
oped transmission techniques can be used effectively. The com- the fiber bend-insensitive.4 We went beyond the ITU-T G.657.B3
plete system consists of a 7-core passive optical fiber together recommendation, achieving a loss below 0.1 dB for 10 turns on a 5
with all-fiber fan-in/fan-out components. The fan-in/fan-out al- mm radius mandrel. Practically no crosstalk can be observed in IPT-
lows information to be sent and received to/from each core inde- CORE, i.e. less than −40 dB of crosstalk at 1550 nm. This result
pendently, thus effectively providing the functionality of 7 fibers allows the cores to be treated as totally separate channels.
within a single fiber. Furthermore, 1x7 all-fiber power splitters Moreover, the design of the 7-core fiber enables the trans-
and erbium doped active multi-core fibers (active IPT-CORE) mission loss to be brought down to the level of traditional op-
for signal amplification have also been developed (Fig. 3). tical fibers. The zero dispersion wavelength of the IPT-CORE
fiber is in the range from 1300 nm to 1324 nm, while the
Macrobending and Crosstalk Properties dispersion slope remains below 0.092 ps·nm−2·km−1 and the
The fiber is composed of cells, each based on a single core sur- dispersion at 1550 nm below 18.5 ps·nm−1·km−1.
rounded with air-holes. The role of the air-holes in the basic cell
is twofold. Their main function is to isolate cores from each oth- 4
A. Ziolowicz et al., “Hole-assisted multicore optical fiber for next generation
er, thereby eliminating crosstalk and allowing core density to be in- telecom transmission systems,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 105, no. 8, p. 81106,
creased. The second role is to reduce macrobend loss, and thus, make Aug. 2014.
6 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020
Fan-In/Fan-Out
Device
IPT-Core
For Next Generation Networks IPT-Core
FTTH For IoT Sensors
IPT-Core
For Data Centers
IPT-Core
For 5G Networks
Active IPT-Core
for Amplifiers
Figure 3. Illustration of the use of InPhoTech IPT-Core technology.
Society Impact we have create a completely new quality. As an active mem-
COVID-19 situation showed that there is still work to be done ber of the Photonics and Fiber Optics Cluster in Poland, In-
on network systems. Providing stable and reliable connection PhoTech collaborates with other scientific and research units,
despite difficult and new conditions became essential for fur- and the business environment in the fiber optic industry. This
ther development of national economies and societies. Fiber- includes also the IEEE Photonics Chapter Poland, which is
optic technologies, such as multicore fibers and spatial divi- chaired by Patryk Urban, Ph.D., our Business and Technology
sion multiplexing, are in the spotlight as they are the building Development Manager and an Associate Professor at West Po-
blocks for next-generation communication networks. meranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland.
At InPhoTech, we use the achievements of the Polish fiber- The project has received funding from the European
optic school, which began to develop independently in the Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation pro-
1970s. Based on our native solutions and the latest discoveries, gramme under grant agreement No 880054.
Cartoon
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 7
Industry Engagement
Life at a Photonics Startup: Lessons Learned
Topic: Novelty, Industry, and Democratization:
The Relationship Between Business, People, and Government
By John MacDonald
Business will always be part of something larger than itself. To be
successful, a startup must consider its role in this broader market. World Literacy Rate (percent)
100
History shows that progress often consists of great revolutions 90
that begin slowly but ultimately become democratized institu- 80
tions. Often, the revolutionary idea is a solution waiting for a 70
problem. Examples of these are: literacy, timekeeping, electrifica- 60
tion, and communication. Each has experienced three sometimes 50
overlapping phases of development. First is novelty; when cost is 40
30
prohibitive and the service is available only to the very wealthy or
20
otherwise well-connected. Over time, demand becomes prevalent 10
as people recognize the benefit, even if they can’t pay for it. This 0
leads to Phase 2: industry. Methods are developed to reduce cost,
1800
1820
1840
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2020
leading to widespread, but incomplete, availability. The third
phase is institutionality: public sentiment dictates that all people Source: OECD and UNESCO (2016) ourworldindata.org
should be entitled, prompting governments to undertake infra-
structure development which leads to complete democratization. ics, which led to further demand. But the businesses making and
The constant in all phases is demand: people want the service selling books were not equipped to teach everyone to read.
because they realize its public benefit. As people began to realize the tremendous value of literacy
Study of these great ideas reveals a complicated, centuries- for all, governments were pressured to step in with new laws
long dance taking place among innovators, industrialists, and that encouraged it. Scotland has been regarded as the first na-
the public. Business, in the sense of making products or services tion to require compulsory education: in 1496, the Scottish
and trading them for common currency, is a partner in this over- parliament passed the first of a series of laws requiring the
all human trajectory. It is interesting and informative to review eldest sons of wealthy landowners to learn Latin. By 1633,
a few of these great ideas that have shaped our world. they had mandated a public school in every parish, paid for
by taxes [1]. Over the next 200 years, compulsory education
Literacy in one form or another was established in most of Europe and
For most of human history, literacy was regarded as unimport- the American colonies.
ant but for a special class of philosophers and scribes. Invention It took until the mid-19th century for the idea of universal
of the movable-type printing press began a revolution in lit- public education to be deemed essential by most governments;
eracy and public education that has taken 550 years to become the idea that every person should benefit from state-funded
nearly fully institutionalized. education. Massachusetts was the first state to standardize an
Gutenberg developed the movable-type printing press in the educational curriculum, in 1837. By 1918 compulsory atten-
mid-15th century. There had been printing presses for hundreds dance through elementary school was the law in every U.S.
of years prior to this, but his is regarded as the first to permit State. Still, by 1920, only 30% of Americans had attended
mass-production of books. Still, this was a solution in search of some form of high school. Today, about 90% of the world’s
problem; namely, nobody knew how to read. What good was population is literate [2].
printing one hundred bibles if you could only sell two of them? 550 years, and we are on the cusp of 100% literacy. The sto-
The first decades after the invention were a novelty phase, as uni- ry behind this revolution highlights the complementary roles
versities and government libraries began to have greater access to of demand, business, and public policy created by a solution to
printed materials, while commoners still had none. what was once considered a nonexistent problem.
The industrial phase of literacy includes the development of
low-cost manufacturing of cotton- and pulp-based paper, the de- Timekeeping
velopment of book-binding, and ink manufacturing. This was As our society became involved in activities unrelated to agri-
soon followed by authorship, which included science and edu- culture, we needed the ability to quantify time. Later, we fig-
cational texts, political discourse, and even fiction storytelling. ured out how to package it into marketable slices.
The extremely wealthy could now send their children to school. For millennia, knowing when to plant crops or start the
There was rapid growth of science, philosophy, and mathemat- annual hunt was sufficiently high-tech for the lifestyle. Global
8 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020exploration and transportation could not occur on a large scale are multiple trains on one track. Now, towns that were far
until time could be quantified; not seasonally or even hourly, apart using animal-powered transportation suddenly became
but to the minute and second. close enough together to require time standardization.
Determining your position relative to the equator (latitude) is As a matter of public policy, Britain adopted the use of
relatively straightforward by measuring the sun’s elevation. Deter- “railway time” (as GMT) in the middle of the nineteenth cen-
mining your east-west location (longitude) is much harder. In order tury [4]. The U.S. adopted standard time zones along the en-
to avoid becoming lost, you must know what time it is relative to tire east-west rail system in 1883 [5].
a standard, such as the Prime Meridian. This requires a clock that The demand for higher accuracy persists today. The radio sta-
stays accurate for many months amid the difficulties of sea travel. tion WWV began broadcasting frequency standards in 1922 and
Both public policy and innovation were required to solve this. switched exclusively to broadcasting time standards in 1945. Loran,
In 1714, the U.K. Parliament offered a £20,000 reward for a system for naval and aircraft timekeeping and navigation, began
an instrument that would solve the longitude problem. In 1736, in 1941 [6]. Government observatories across the globe now coordi-
John Harrison successfully demonstrated the first of several ver- nate and synchronize their atomic clocks to ever-increasing accuracy.
sions of “chronometer” that was accurate to about 2 minutes over Every e-commerce transaction uses this global standard, known as
6 weeks at sea [3]. This initiated the industrial phase, kick-start- UTC. Even the name UTC represents a public-policy compromise
ed by policy. Soon rugged, accurate clocks were readily available. between French (Temps Universel Coordonné) and English (Coor-
But just like every clock, they needed to be set. This required a dinated Universal Time). All the while, industry develops and pro-
government-sized effort to maintain an accurate time standard duces goods and services that utilize these public initiatives.
at the Prime Meridian, now known as Greenwich Mean Time In the early 20th century, a secondary aspect of time began to
(GMT). “Time balls” were installed at naval observatories and emerge: the ability to package it into quantifiable economic bits. Fred-
major port cities. The large wooden ball at Portsmouth, U.K., erick Taylor, working for Bethlehem Steel, pioneered the science of
for example, would drop every day at precisely 1 PM. Ships in analyzing time as an economic resource, and is considered the father of
the harbor could set their clocks to the dropping of the ball, like Scientific Management. By carefully studying the work habits of steel-
Times Square on New Year’s Eve, but without the revelry. workers, Taylor was able to define, down to the second, the amount
Industrialization of timekeeping began with the chronom- of time required to perform routine tasks. This led in turn to the
eter and proceeded to the railroads. The railroad problem re- standardization of work tools (prior to Taylor, workers often brought
quired accurate time scheduling for arrivals and departures. their own tools to the factories) and time sequencing, all in the name
Prior to standardization of time, each town managed its own of maximizing efficiency. As Taylor wrote in The Principles of Scientific
local clock, often determined by the sun. In the northern tem- Management in 1911, “In the past the man has been first; in the future
perate zones, these differences amounted to about 7½ minutes the system must be first.” For good or bad, time had become a com-
for every 100 miles east-west. The problem gets worse if there modity to be exchanged and managed like people and capital.
Today, GPS and other global positioning systems provide
“free” time to the entire world, accurate to about 1 ns. The
intent of GPS was military navigation, but industry quickly
innovated increasingly-sophisticated democratized solutions
unforeseen by the original policy-makers. We may say the de-
mocratization of timekeeping is fairly complete. If marked by
the naval chronometer, this revolution took about 250 years.
Electrification
On a quiet evening in 1881, at a private home in New York
City, a simple on-off switch was thrown by Thomas Edison
and in that instant, amid the cries of astonishment from the
gathered dinner guests, the world changed forever. For the first
time, a private home had been illuminated by electric light [7].
This wasn’t just any private home. It was J. P. Morgan’s
mansion at 219 Madison Avenue. The cost of installing the
on-site boiler, steam engine, and generator to produce the elec-
tricity was enormous. Would this remain just a novelty? Or
was there a path toward illuminating every home, every street,
every place of business or worship, everywhere? We know the
answer now, but it was uncertain at the time.
There were gas lamps and arc lights that sort of half-illuminat-
ed homes and streets for two decades. But this was different. There
was no dim flicker of a gas lamp, reminding you that it was really
night time. And looking at an arc lamp…well, you didn’t do that
Time Ball at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, first dropped in because it would blind you. And no-one would put an arc lamp
1833. Source: Wikipedia. in their home. You could stare straight at these new electric light
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 9In order to provide electrical service, companies had to build
generating stations large enough to power a good portion of a
city. In order to be cost-effective, the company needed to sell to
most of the people within reach of the station. Competition did
not work – multiple companies building multiple stations in
one locality would all fail. In the early phase of industrialization,
providers would purchase exclusive franchise rights in each local-
ity. However, this quickly led to bidding wars among competing
electricity providers, graft, and bribery involving countless un-
scrupulous city officials, threatening the enterprise entirely.
The solution in the U. S. was for utility companies to part-
ner with the public. State governments formed regulation
boards to oversee infrastructure and determine standardized
rates. In return, the utilities were granted a statewide fran-
chise. In effect, utilities would be controlled by government in
exchange for a monopoly. By 1914, 43 states had such commis-
sions. Without these public-business compromises, democra-
tized electrification would likely have failed [10].
Still, rural markets were left mostly unserved. This solution
required federal-level public spending over many decades. In the
United States, in 1930, only 10% of rural areas were electrified.
By 1939, it had risen to 25%. From a global perspective, access
has taken longer, but progress continues. In 1994, 76% of the
world’s population was electrified. By 2016, that number had
increased to 89% [11]. Lack of access is still mostly rural.
It has taken a little over 100 years since the switch was thrown
at Niagara Falls to almost total democratization of electricity.
Tesla, atop his dynamo, stands watch over Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, ON, CA: author’s collection.
Communications
We are in the midst of the communications revolution now,
bulbs safely. And they would light up the room as if it were day. even though it may be considered the oldest idea, and is likely
But therein was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist: everyone to continue to be institutionalized for a long time. It has also
wanted to light up their house, but no-one had electricity. It’s like taken many forms. Grunting and pointing. Fire-signaling along
printing books that no-one knows how to read. the Great Wall. Smoke signals. Semaphores and time balls. For
Edison’s main contribution wasn’t the light bulb, it was his much of human history, communication was confined to visual
distribution business model. He realized that the only way to sell sight-lines.
light bulbs to people other than J. P. and his peers in the strato- In more modern times, we can trace the availability of long-
sphere was to distribute the electricity from a central location. distance information transfer to the first practical electric tele-
Much has been written about the acrimony between Edison and graph, invented by Samuel Morse in 1837. Unlike the printing
Tesla, and I for one will not wade into that arena here. Suffice it to press, the railroad, and to some extent the light bulb, the tele-
say that Edison figured out the business model (central distribution), graph was a solution to a problem that did exist; that of sending
while Tesla figured out the distance problem (high voltage 3-phase messages over long distances. Still, telegraph began as a novelty,
AC). The industrial phase began in earnest once Tesla’s brainchild, for economic reasons. Only large corporations and governments
the Niagara Falls hydroelectric generating station, began operation. had access. Few, if any, had a telegraph in their home.
This was a project of enormous scope that had never been attempted The industrial phase ramped up after the development of the
in the history of the world. In November, 1896, 3-phase AC current telephone. Demand existed, and industry developed cost-effec-
was delivered to Buffalo, NY, 25 miles away [8]. This was not the tive solutions. It took only about 100 years to completely democ-
first time that water had been harnessed for power, but it was for the ratize telephone service in the U.S. In 1920, 35% of homes had a
first time done on this enormous scale. And that power didn’t care telephone; by 2000, 98% [12]. Rural distribution was an easier
whether you were a multi-acre manufacturing plant or a humble economic hurdle for industry to undertake compared to electric-
residence – there was light for everyone. ity—just put up a wooden pole and string low-voltage wires.
In the U.S., while the production of electricity increased In many ways, broadcast radio is the first real example of the
rapidly, from 5.9 GWh in 1907 to 75.4 GWh in 1927 [9], it democratization of information, followed by television. Cutting
did not take long for the industry to run out of markets. Most the cord meant cutting the infrastructure cost. However, broad-
service was located in urban or suburban areas; it was not eco- cast is still one-way. The institutionalization continues with each
nomical to deliver electricity rurally. At the same time, the hu- advancement in two-way communication. After 150 years, we are
man benefit of electricity had rapidly grown in the conscious- on the verge of institutionalizing interpersonal communications.
ness, and people demanded it as a matter of public policy. Public policy has been shaping this progress for over 100 years.
10 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020Perhaps one of the most important aspects of public policy Prior to Z-Poynt and Linear Photonics, John was Engineering
as it relates to wireless communications is the legal concept that Manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems company, responsible
frequency spectrum is a natural resource to be managed by gov- for satellite payload equipment, and Product Line Manager at JDS
ernment (the people). Companies rent spectrum and in return Uniphase, specializing in photonics communications systems.
agree to develop it. An example is the transfer of development Mr. MacDonald is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded
rights in the obsolete UHF TV spectrum to wireless carriers who or co-founded 5 startups ranging from computer development
develop mobile telephony. This policy has led to a largely suc- and service, photonics and fiber optics, satellite communica-
cessful marriage between private enterprise and public trust. tions and engineering consulting.
Some have called this the Information Age. I think that’s John holds a BSEE degree from the Rochester Institute of
a misnomer. I think it’s the Communication Age. Who will Technology, and an MSEE from Syracuse University, and serves
deny there’s more “stuff” being shared? But how much of it as adjunct professor of engineering at The College of New Jersey.
is information? Perhaps that’s a question for Claude Shannon. For questions or comments, John can be reached via email
The father of information theory defined communication with at zpoynt@outlook.com
this classic bit of understatement (emphasis mine) [13]:
References
The fundamental problem of communication is that of repro- [1] Arthur Herman, How the Scots Invented the Modern
ducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message World, (2001) MJF Books, NY.
selected at another point. Frequently the messages have [2] “American Public Education: An Origin Story”, (April
meaning… 16, 2013) Education News, education news.org.
[3] G. J. Whitrow, Time in History: Views of Time from
Today, ever-increasing public demand drives access to high- Prehistory to the Present Day, (2004) Oxford University
speed, reliable wireless communications. Many still lack such ac- Press, pp. 141-142.
cess. We are engaged in public discourse about how to provide [4] Ibid., pp. 161.
that access, and increasingly we see it as an entitlement. We are [5] “Railway Time Belts,” (Oct. 10, 1883), NY Times article.
repeating the process of democratization that took place with lit- [6] J. A. Pierce; A. A. McKenzie; R. H. Woodward, R. H.
eracy, timekeeping, electrification, and many other great ideas. (eds.), (1948) LORAN: Long Range Navigation, New York:
McGraw Hill, pp. 19–51.
Summary [7] Maury Klein, The Power Makers (2008), Bloomsbury
Many of history’s great ideas began from a solution without a prob- Press, NY, pp 169-172.
lem. The printing press (nobody can read). The railroad network (we [8] W. Bernard Carlson, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age,
can’t schedule service). The light bulb (nobody has electricity). But (2013) Princeton University Press, pp. 162-175.
in each case, demand led to institutionalization, requiring a com- [9] https://americanhistory.si.edu/powering/past/h1main.htm
bination of innovative industry and public policy finally providing [10] Ibid.
complete access. Business is an important partner, but ultimately it [11] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS
is the people that determine whether an idea is truly great. [12] www.statista.com
Entrepreneurs and business development people constantly [13] Claude E. Shannon, A Mathematical Theory of Communication,
strategize about where to place limited investment resources (1948) The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379.
to maximize results. Understanding the complicated interplay
between innovation, industry, and public policy should be part About this Column
of every informed decision. This is a regular column that explores business aspects of technol-
What will the next great revolution look like? ogy-oriented companies and in particular, the demanding business
aspects of photonics startups. The column touches on a broad range
About the Author of topics such as financing, business plan, product development
John MacDonald is President of Z- methodology, program management, hiring and retention, sales
Poynt Systems, an engineering/busi- methodology and risk management. That is to say, we include all
ness-development consulting firm lo- the pains and successes of living the photonics startup life.
cated in Southeastern Pennsylvania. This column is written sometimes by Daniel Renner, the
Z-Poynt provides services for photon- column editor, and sometimes by invited participants, so that
ics and fiber optics, satellite equip- we can share multiple points of view coming from the full
ment design and manufacturing, RF spectrum of individuals that have something to say on this
and microwave communications, and topic. At the same time, this is a conversation with you, the
general engineering consulting. reader. We welcome questions, other opinions and suggestions
Mr. MacDonald co-founded Linear Photonics, LLC in 2004 for specific topics to be addressed in the future.
and built it into the dominant market provider of microwave- The expectation for this column is to provide useful busi-
over-fiber solutions for government and commercial applica- ness-related information for those who intend to start, join,
tions. These systems enable long-distance communication of improve the operation, fund, acquire or sell a photonic startup.
ultra-broadband information signals, as well as the distribu- A fascinating area that can provide enormous professional re-
tion of ultra-precise time and frequency standards. ward to those engaged in it.
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 11Get to Know Your IEEE Photonics Society Leadership
Fatima Garcia-Gunning, Ph.D.
Senior Staff Researcher at Tyndall National Institute
VP of Membership, IEEE Photonics Society
What is Your Current Profession? What Role Does Your BoG
I am a Senior Staff Researcher at Tyndall Na- Position Play for IPS? What
tional Institute and Head of Graduate Studies. Challenges Do You Face in
My research is focused on optical fibre systems Your Part?
and sensing, where I am leading a team working I am the current VP of Membership, where we
on analogue photonic solutions for high capac- look after all things related to membership,
ity systems and also on the exciting area of 2 μm extending beyond recruitment and retention
photonics, enabling us to not only think about plans, so also working with chapter revital-
communications beyond traditional C-band ization, mentorship programs, members-only
and utilizing novel optical fibres, but also in content, and diversity and inclusion. One of
sensing applications, in particular for environ- the biggest challenges is overseeing all the ac-
mental monitoring. As Head of Graduate Stud- tivities across the globe and ensuring we are
Fatima Garcia-Gunning
ies in Tyndall, I also focus on strategic training supporting our regional chapters and student
programs for our postgraduate students, focus- branches. Luckily, we have an excellent team
ing on our key core skills in photonics, semiconductor fabrica- (staff & volunteers!) to help with such a task!
tion & packaging, but also in diverse applications from telecoms
to medical devices. We also engage with innumerable outreach What Do You Want to Accomplish as a Board
activities to ensure citizen engagement with Science. Member this Year/Next Year?
I am very passionate about mentorship to all career levels, and
we also find that mentorship is critical to reaching the advance-
ment of underrepresented groups. One of the most rewarding
experiences since volunteering with the Society was the micro-
mentoring I received, which helped me tremendously. So, I
want to share this experience with our members, our students
and young professionals. This year I would like to see further
engagement in our e-mentor match program, for example,
which has been successful during conferences!
Why Photonics? What was Your
“Photonics Moment?”
I knew I wanted to continue my studies in Physics beyond my
undergrad degree when I stepped into the nonlinear optics labs
at PUC-Rio (Brazil), where I studied. One of the highlights
(although most people would have hated it) was to re-align
the entire cavity (note: invisible IR light…) of this massive
water-cooled Nd:YAG laser. I was also humbled to be trusted
by my supervisors (Walter Margulis & Isabel Carvalho) to take
on such a significant challenge, as it was the heart of the lab’s
research. I never looked back and continued to learn new ar-
eas in Photonics, from nonlinear optics to optical communica-
tions, through semiconductor devices and packaging.
What About Our Society’s Mission,
and Work Motivates You?
The community model engagement. As in “we” as members,
we can engage with IPS for a greater good. Not only network-
ing and exchanging research ideas, entrepreneurship opportu-
nities, and even commercial engagement but also contributing
to a better society. It is encouraging to see how some of our
Fatima Garcia-Gunning at her lab. volunteers have ideas that can change lives around the world.
12 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020Fatima Garcia-Gunning receiving ‘The Research Supervisor of
Fatima Garcia-Gunning at SFI Science Summit 2019. the Year award’.
Why Do You Think Members Should ideas and passion, we were then engaged with events in larger
be Involved as IEEE Photonics Society international conferences, and from then onwards, our relation-
Volunteers? What are the Benefits? ship grew stronger and stronger. By “we” here I mean myself
I remember not understanding the importance of being a mem- and my team members. We benefited tremendously from this
ber of a professional society, except for the discounts in major strong engagement, personally through mentorship and an op-
conferences. It wasn’t until I started working with IPS that I portunity to lead a few impactful activities; from my team’s per-
realized how inclusive the IPS community is, and of the oppor- spective they were able to build their own network of contacts
tunities available to make a difference if you are up to the chal- which is super crucial for their careers, and for IPS we are now
lenge. It started with a micro-volunteering opportunity for a di- implementing activities and guidelines that will enable a more
versity event at a local conference “Photonics Ireland.” Given our diverse community with an inclusive voice. Winners all around!
IEEE Photonics Commitment to Diversity Opportunities
Diversity & Inclusion Women in Photonics Multicultural Outreach
Scholarships & Grants Scholarships & Grants & Globalization Grants
Merit-based recognition for Merit-based recognition for Grants for chapters and
student members, young outstanding students and research centers to support
professionals and volunteers early career women in the academic exchanges and to
championing diversity and photonics community. address international and
inclusion efforts in the cross-cultural scientific
photonics community. understanding.
For more information, email:
PhotonicsSociety@ieee.org
August 2020 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 13Photonics Worldwide—This is My Lab
This edition of “Photonics Worldwide” features three inspiring re-
searchers from the U.K., the U.S. and from Egypt. Angeles Cama-
cho focuses on fibre fiber fabrication, Grace Kuo develops artificial
intelligence algorithms and Shaimaa Ali Mohamed works on solar
cells. Have a look and see what inspired them to start a career in
photonics and what gets them out of bed every day.
Please get in touch if you would like be part of the “Photon-
ics Worldwide—This is My Lab” column and tell us your story.
many international conferences and travel to different countries in
Europe. Being able to secure travel support, I visited countries like
South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, and Tunisia. After
receiving my Ph.D. in 2015, I continued my work as a postdoc-
toral fellow then assistant professor at Zewail City of Science and
Technology. My research work involves the design, fabrication, and
characterization of different types of solar photovoltaic devices to
realize highly efficient and low-cost energy sources to tackle the
energy problem that Egypt and the world face today. Being able to
My Name is Angeles Camacho; I just finished my Ph.D. in contribute to tackle the global challenge and the related environ-
the Optoelectronic Research Centre (ORC) at the University of mental impact and CO2 emission level by working on abundant
Southampton, U.K.. I am Mexican and a proud mother of two clean energy sources is what drives me to conduct my research. At
lovely boys. I work in optical fibre fabrication, and I loved what Zewail City, we are collaborating with many research groups and
I did during my Ph.D.. My doctoral project was focused on Op- institutes worldwide through either bilateral research projects or
tical fibres produced by 3D printing. In the photo you can see academic programs. I enjoyed my journey and I feel happy to be a
me next to a drawing tower where we draw the optical fibres we part of such a wonderful, friendly and motivated community.
fabricate in the research centre. Currently, I am a researcher in the
ORC, and I am so excited about the new project I am involved in.
After I finished my degree in Mexico, I used to work as Direc-
tor of operations in a Mexican company for more than ten years.
Life changed for me eight years ago, when my family decided to
move to the U.K.. For two years, I reinvented myself repeatedly
until science reached me, and I changed my career. I jointed to
the ORC in 2015; since then, I have lived fantastic moments such
as presenting my work in international conferences, working in
outreach, promoting STEM and other extracurricular activities.
Also, I am involved in international projects for optics and pho-
tonics, where I enjoy the opportunity to learn every day.
I have learned from our community that science is a constant
feedback process where we become co-responsible not only the My name is Grace Kuo, and I am Ph.D. candidate at the Uni-
scientific content we produce every day but also we take re- versity of California, Berkeley, U.S., advised by Dr. Laura Waller
sponsibility to bring this knowledge to the general public and and Dr. Ren Ng. My research is in computational imaging, which
make it useful for the society. I vision my career as a constant is the joint design of hardware and algorithms for imaging systems.
learn-teach process, facing new challenges every day. For example, I helped design a lensless camera, in which we replace
the lens of a traditional camera with a thin piece of plastic, result-
My name is Shaimaa Ali, I am a research fellow at the Center for ing in a very small and lightweight system. The raw data we cap-
Photonic and Smart Materials (CPSM) and a lecturer at Nano- ture doesn’t look like much, but we can process the measurement
technology and Nano-Engineering program at Zewail City of to recover an image. In fact, the photo of me above was taken with
Science and Technology, Egypt. In 2012, I started at Zewail City one of our prototypes, and you can see the raw data in the corner!
as a research assistant and enrolled in my Ph.D.. I was awarded I really enjoy that my research involves both hardware pro-
the Africa-North Exchange Program (ANEX) fellowship, which totyping and developing new algorithms, and it’s incredibly
allowed me to join a research group at Johannes Kepler University rewarding to work on cameras and microscopes since they al-
Linz, Austria. During my PhD study, I had the chance to attend low us to see the world in new ways.
14 IEEE PHOTONICS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER August 2020You can also read
