Annual activity report

Period: May 2015 – May 2016

Advisor: prof. Hugo Thienpont

Officers: Jens De Pelsmaeker (president)

Sidney Goossens (vice-president)

Iterio Degli-Eredi (secretary)

Benjamin Feigel (treasurer)

Evert Ebraert (executive committee)

Fei Gao (executive committee)

Agnieszka Gierej (executive committee)

Qing Liu (executive committee)

Lara Misseeuw (executive committee)

Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Activity report .................................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 SPIE-staff barbeque ....................................................................................................................... 3

1.2 Teacher trainings Photonics Explorer kit ....................................................................................... 3

1.3 SPIE Optics + Photonics ................................................................................................................. 4

1.4 SPIE welcome pizza lunch .............................................................................................................. 5

1.5 Science show ................................................................................................................................. 5

1.6 SPIE board game night................................................................................................................... 6

1.7 Sinterklaas ..................................................................................................................................... 6

1.8 Brussels Christmas market visit ..................................................................................................... 6

1.9 SPIE movie night ............................................................................................................................ 7

1.10 SPIE bonfire ................................................................................................................................. 7

1.11 SPIE Photonics Europe – Innovation Village 2016 ....................................................................... 8

1.12 Secretary day ............................................................................................................................... 8

1.13 Light Night/LIGHTtalks – Careers in Photonics ............................................................................ 8

2. Overview of planned activities ........................................................................................................ 9

3. Financial statement ....................................................................................................................... 10

4. Member listing .............................................................................................................................. 10

Introduction

The Vrije Univ. Brussels SPIE student chapter was founded in 2006 and under the auspices of its advisor

Prof. Hugo Thienpont and of SPIE, it has grown to the largest SPIE student chapter in Western Europe.

The goal of the student chapter is to give a social dimension to the life of the photonics MSc and PhD

students of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel with ‘social’ meaning both (non-work related) fun as well as

community oriented (or outreach).

1. Activity report

1.1 SPIE-staff barbeque A good way to get the summer feeling is the BBQ of the SPIE student chapter. This year it was

combined with the annual staff barbeque of VUB, since they provided the barbecue grills and tables

for us. The barbeque was organised on July 3rd, 2015. We had around 20 people attending from the

SPIE student chapter.

1.2 Teacher trainings Photonics Explorer kit The mission of the Photonics Explorer educational kit is to scientifically engage kids (from ages 12 to

18) and excite them for a career in science or technology. Containing more than 100 components

(ranging from lenses, LEDs, polarizers to an optical fiber) its pedagogic focus lies on Inquiry Based

Learning: independent work in small groups (3-4 students) whereby the groups have to design and use

their own setups to prove or disprove their ideas. Developed by our department in cooperation with

35 educational experts, it was extensively field tested in 2011 in schools all around Europe (Belgium,

Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK) and in 2012 the kit was officially launched.

Nowadays, teachers can inscribe for the Photonics Explorer kit workshop, after which they receive the

kit free-of-charge.

The chapter board fully supports Eyest, the non-profit organization responsible for the distribution of

the kits (http://www.eyest.eu/). To support Eyest, members of the student chapter assist during the

teacher trainings, during which the teachers are introduced to the kit. We introduce the teachers to

the kit’s components and suggest possible ways on how to integrate it into their own curriculum.

During the past period, six teacher trainings were organised, of which the dates are given below:

09/05/2015: Nivelles – 29 teachers

18/05/2015 : Nivelles, – 20 teachers

10/06/2015: 14 teachers (14 different schools) of which 46% women

17/06/2015: 16 teachers (16 different schools) of which 37% women

24/09/2015 : Eindhoven – 6 teachers

07/12/2015: Nivelles – 25 teachers

1.3 SPIE Optics + Photonics

Thanks to the SPIE student chapter travel grant, Jens De Pelsmaeker, was able to attend the SPIE Optics

+ Photonics Conference (8-13/08/2015), held at the San Diego Conference Center, California. As a

representative of the Vrije Univ. Brussels chapter, he participated in the Student Chapter Leadership

Workshop on Saturday, August 8. This workshop brings together active board members from all over

the world, giving them the opportunity to interact and learn from each other. During the workshop,

he discussed the characteristics of a good leader, the communication across cultures and how to go

from ideas to achievements that have since been useful for our student chapter.

Jens presented a poster in which the activities of our student chapter of the past year were shown.

Moreover, he also took the opportunity to attend several student workshops, such as the “How to

persuade others” workshop by J.L. Doumont. With its numerous student workshops and networking

events, the Optics+Photonics conference is a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for every student

who wishes to broaden their horizon.

1.4 SPIE welcome pizza lunch To attract new students to the Brussels SPIE student chapter, the chapter board organised a pizza

welcome lunch on October 8, 2015. During this lunch, the chapter board gives a short presentation to

introduce itself and its goals for the next year. Moreover, to facilitate the process of creating/renewing

the student memberships, laptops with an internet connection were made available. In this way, the

lunch’s participants could create/renew their membership under guidance of the board members. The

lunch was a success and as a result, the Vrije Univ. Brussel chapter now consists of 68 members (56

student members and 12 alumni).

1.5 Science show Every year, the Vrije Univ. Brussels SPIE student chapter assists during the Science Show. On the 26th

and the 27th of October 2015, the Science Show was performed three times for different audiences.

More than 1500 students from 45 Belgian secondary schools came to the VUB to participate in one of

the three photonics science shows. The students were introduced to lasers for medical applications,

LEDs for energy-efficient lighting, solar concentrators and 3-dimensional displays.

The chapter board, together with B-PHOT engineers and scientist, helped in every aspect of the Science

Show, from designing and building the onstage experiments to the actual presentations. With this

outreach activity, B-PHOT aims at contributing to inspiring the next generation of scientists and

engineers who will apply the power of light to innovate products and create jobs in Europe.

During the show the students were also invited to participate in a quiz using their mobile phones. The

student with the most correct answers and the shortest response time received a nice prize at the end

of the show. Volunteers from the public joined our researchers on stage to assist them with

experiments using infrared light, fluorescence, tuneable lenses, colour mixing, endoscopy, optical

sensors, and much more.

1.6 SPIE board game night As a beloved pastime amongst students everywhere, board games form the ideal mix between social

and cerebral activity. With that in mind, on November 26th 2015, the student chapter invited its

members for some pizza and an evening filled with board games such as Khet 2.0 laser chess, Werewolf

and Resistance.

1.7 Sinterklaas Every year, on December 6th, the children in Belgium celebrate Saint Nicholas (or Sinterklaas as he is

known in Belgium). It is the tradition that around December 6th, children place an empty shoe near

their fireplace or window for Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas will then pass by overnight and bring some toys

and sweets. In the spirit of this tradition, this year the chapter board prepared small bags of candy for

their colleagues at B-PHOT and secretly placed one in the shoe of each colleague on the Monday the

7th of December 2015.

1.8 Brussels Christmas market visit In Belgium, Brussel is known for its amazing Christmas market. Every year, the streets are filled with

little stalls, a Ferris wheel, an open-air ice skating ring. The visit to the Christmas market is a yearly

returning popular activity. This year, the event was organised on December 17, 2015. We had dinner

at the Christmas market, after which different types of Belgian jenever were tasted.

1.9 SPIE movie night This event was organized to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our SPIE student chapter. An

educational movie was displayed on the university campus. The entire SPIE board and past president

were present. The evening was closed with a musical note and some cocktails.

1.10 SPIE bonfire As a first time event, current Vice-President Sidney Goossens came up with the idea of organizing a

‘bonfire’, using the available bonfire facilities on the university campus. Even though it was a bit early

in the year for an outdoors event, it took place on March 16th 2016. The event turned out to be a

major success and attracted around 35 student members and, regardless of the still rather cold

weather, the fire provided warmth to all those that gathered around it and sparked interesting

conversations, an inspirational speech and even a musical note to conclude this heart-warming

evening.

1.11 SPIE Photonics Europe – Innovation Village 2016 As the current president, Jens De Pelsmaeker, with the support of a team of other SPIE board

members (Sidney Goossens, Iterio Degli-Eredi and Agnieska Gierej), organized the Innovation Village

at Photonics Europe 2016, on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th of April. Out of the 8 final participants

(several other participants cancelled last-minute due to the terror attacks in Brussels two weeks

before the conference) in both the individual and multilateral categories, 2 winners and 2 runner-ups

were selected for their cash prizes of respectively 1500 and 500 euros. Besides this, in collaboration

with Dirk Fabian, a travel grant was awarded to one of the teams to participate in the SPIE Photonics

West Startup Challenge next year.

1.12 Secretary day This year again, in an effort to honor our administrative staff that supports the student chapter

members in various ways, on international secretary day the 27th of April 2016, we bought a box of

chocolates for each secretary to thank them for all the good work (and pay off some favours/debts).

1.13 Light Night/LIGHTtalks – Careers in Photonics Following an annual tradition of a collaborative educational program set up for the photonics master

program organised between UGent and VUB, our student chapter again organised a ‘light night’ in

the second semester of the academic year. This year however, additional funding was provided by

the organization LIGHT2015, with the requirement that the format of their ‘LIGHTtalks’ was followed

and a special effort was made to invite multiple speakers and attract a large crowd (>60 people). This

gave us the incentive to organize a rather large-scale event and thanks to the help of SPIE under the

form of their ‘visiting lecturer program’ we were even able to invite prof. Christopher T. Middlebrook

from Michigan Technological University to come speak at our event.

The event consisted of a ‘sandwich walking dinner’, followed by the presentations which included 3

parts, namely an ‘industry speaker’, a series of 8 alumni speakers and prof. Christopher T.

Middlebrook as the ‘society perspective’. A short Q&A session was held where the audience got the

chance to ask questions to all of the speakers. The event concluded with a networking reception.

The event drew around 75 people and we received extremely positive feedback from many. This was

formalized through a questionnaire filled in by the participants as an additional valorisation

requirement for the LIGHTtalks.

2. Overview of planned activities

As a next activity, to end the academic year with a social event, we are planning a barbeque in June,

most likely combined with the VUB staff barbecue like last year. Furthermore, our vice-president,

Sidney Goossens, to be become chapter president next year, has applied for the student travel grant

to represent our student chapter at SPIE Optics+Photonics 2016.

During the next year, we will continue with the organisation of the Science Show and the assisting of

the Photonics Explorer Education kit teacher trainings. Moreover, we will maintain our popular social

activities, like the board game nights, Sinterklaas and Christmas market visit. These activities

strengthen the social contacts within our group. Some newer additions such as the bonfire are very

likely to be held again, as many people enjoyed this occasion. As a consequence of these events, the

atmosphere in our student chapter and therefore also office is pleasant and provides a stimulating

work environment. Furthermore, next year, we will also continue to organise the Light Nights in

cooperation with UGent, maybe again one the larger scale as we did successfully this year.

3. Financial statement

Balance (May 2015) € 2,058.74

2/07/2015 Staff barbecue -64.48

9/07/2015 Team building: correction 33.93

8/10/2015 Pizzas for “Welcome pizza lunch” -249.50

26/10/2015 Snacks and drinks for “Board game night” -28.56

7/12/2015 Toys and sweets for “St Nicholas” -36.86

17/12/2015 Snacks and drinks for “Brussels Christmas market visit” -30.00

4/01/2016 ING-PayPal Banking costs -42.30

13/01/2016 SPIE/Chapter activity grant 1527.13

11/02/2016 Snacks and drinks for “Movie night” -140.83

16/03/2016 Materials, snacks and drinks for “Bonfire” -98.64

19/04/2016 Chocolates for "Secretary day" -60.90

Balance (May 2016) € 2,867.73

Our president, Jens De Pelsmaeker, received an SPIE Officer Travel Grant to represent our chapter at

the Leadership Workshop at SPIE Optics & Photonics 2015 in San Diego, CA.

4. Member listing

Member Roster

Total Student Members: 56

Name Expires

Ayyoub Ahar 23 July 2016

Stephanie Alleyn 16 December 2016

Kadir Aras 27 September 2016

Etienne Averlant 7 October 2017

Stijn Bettens 7 October 2016

Sihem Blaha 13 March 2017

David Blinder 7 October 2016

Sven Boulanger 2 November 2016

Mateusz Brzezinski 7 October 2016

Shaun Bundervoet 13 December 2016

Ronggang Cai 16 July 2016

Roksana Chorchos 7 October 2016

Diane de Coster 30 November 2016

Jens De Pelsmaeker 10 October 2016

Iterio Degli-Eredi 18 October 2016

Robin Deleener 16 November 2016

Remco Desmet 27 September 2016

Evert Ebraert 18 October 2016

Benjamin Feigel 24 October 2016

Fei Gao 25 October 2016

Dave Geerardyn 22 November 2016

Agnieszka Gierej 25 June 2016

Cheyenne Goeminne 7 October 2016

Sidney Goossens 11 February 2017

Geert-Jan Graulus 8 October 2016

Krishan Harkhoe 17 September 2016

Xuehao Hu 8 March 2017

Hans Ingelberts 30 October 2016

Jonas Jacobs 10 December 2016

Jorn Jacobs 10 October 2016

Gobinath Jegannathan 7 October 2016

Lars Keuninckx 16 October 2016

Mulham Khoder 10 October 2016

Lieve Lambrechts 10 October 2016

Meijie Li 23 February 2017

Qing Liu 29 September 2016

Enda McCague 23 February 2017

Lara Misseeuw 20 October 2016

Urszula Nawrot 27 October 2016

Yunfeng Nie 28 September 2016

Zofia Nowak 7 October 2016

Pedro Jose Parra-Rivas 7 October 2016

anissa sefsaf 7 October 2016

Volodymyr Seliuchenko 15 January 2017

Aksel Skarbo 7 October 2016

Nadia Slimani 13 March 2017

Lien Smeesters 18 October 2016

Simone Sorgato 30 September 2016

Athanasia Symeonidou 7 October 2016

Adrien T'Kint 8 October 2016

Alumni Roster

Total Alumni: 12

Name Graduation Date

Philippe Tassin May 2009

Thomas Geernaert Dec 2011

Jürgen Van Erps May 2008

Carlos Becerril Sep 2013

Fabian Duerr May 2013

Youri Meuret (not available)

Sara Van Overmeire May 2010

Vincent Ginis May 2014

Tigran Baghdasaryan Apr 2015

Ben De Pauw Nov 2015

Gebirie Yizengaw Belay Jan 2015

Martin Virte Oct 2014