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The University of Auckland
SPIE Student Chapter Annual Report August 2017
Prepared by Fang Ou
1. Elected Officers for August 2016 – 2017
Position Name Membership ID Email
President Fang Ou 3695237 [email protected]
Vice President
Neelam Hari 3762668 [email protected]
Secretary Sam Hitchman 3788185 [email protected]
Treasurer Simon Ashforth 3634134 [email protected]
Faculty advisor: Dr Frédérique Vanholsbeeck
2. Current Members (31)
1 Rakesh Arul 17 Fang Ou
2 Simon Ashforth 18 Xingzheng Wilson Pan
3 Logan Baber 19 Anna Radionova
4 Toby Bi 20 Priyanka Ramaswamy
5 Bastian Braeuer 21 Kannan Ridings
6 Victoria Butterworth 22 Rock Steele
7 Kevin Fernandes 23 Stanley Tang
8 Matthew Goodwin 24 Magdalena Urbańska
9 Thomas Haase 25 Dominik Vogt
10 Neelam Hari 26 Christopher Walker
11 Ian Hendry 27 Qi Wang
12 Chong Hoang 28 Joni White
13 Hima Kavuri 29 Katherine Wilson
14 Dani Metin 30 Yinming Wu
15 Alexander Nielsen 31 Ekaterina Zossimova
16 Nina Novikova
3. Chapter Activities (August 2016 – 2017)
The University of Auckland SPIE Student Chapter was officially approved by SPIE on
September 17 2016. However, the chapter had begun its activities a few months prior, since
the official election of officers in July. Our chapter ‘year’ cycles every year in August.
Science Show at Epsom Normal Primary School (Outreach)
May 31 2016
Chapter President Fang Ou and Vice President Neelam Hari visited Epsom Normal Primary
School to deliver an hour-long interactive session for around 100 year two students. The
theme was about light and sound waves and we demonstrated light-based communications
using the Beambox. (More on the Beambox here: https://colab.aut.ac.nz/beambox/.)
Remuera Intermediate School Visit (Outreach)
August 18 2016
Remuera Intermediate visited the University of Auckland for a tour around the Photon
Factory lab. The tour was then followed by a hands-on activity, where they tried to
experiment with some paper microfluidic patterns. This school visit was carried out by our
student members, led by Simon Ashforth (chapter treasurer). It was great seeing so many
young NZ scientists interested in the photonics research being conducted here!
University of Auckland Open Day (Outreach)
August 26 2016
Our chapter members volunteered to demonstrate physics to the thousands of visitors who
flocked in for the university’s annual open day.
Time-lapse video of our student volunteers getting ready for the demonstrations:
https://twitter.com/SpyOnSPIE/status/769411668191305728
Auckland Photonics Workshop (Professional Development)
September 2 2016
This workshop was a collaboration between the Student Chapter and the Department of
Physics, with support from the Dodd-Walls Centre of Photonic and Quantum Technologies.
The Student Chapter was in charge of the logistics, lab tours and student engagement, while
the department funded the event and invited the speakers. This workshop was structured
as a one-day conference, and provided students the chance to hear and meet several
overseas photonics leaders from all over the world. The workshop was a great success with
over 70 attendees including students and professional staff, from New Zealand and
overseas. Through this event, we also promoted and increased the awareness of our (then)
newly established SPIE student chapter and attracted new members.
L’Oréal ‘For Girls in Science’ forum (Outreach)
September 11 2016
Various chapter members setup demonstrations and interacted with female school-kids
from various high schools. Our effort was part of a country-wide effort to encourage girls to
pursue science careers.
Online news article about the event, featuring photos of our optics demonstrations:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/84309694/tearing-up-the-
lab-as-part-of-girls-science-initiative
Another online news article on this event:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11309101
Guest Lecturer: Andy Brown (Professional Development)
November 29 2016
Our chapter were very fortunate to host Andy Brown, the head of global development at
SPIE. He presented an interesting and inspiring talk about SPIE's recent analysis of the global
market for optics and photonics and about his own career development. Following the
presentation and Q&A session, the students had the rare opportunity to connect with Andy
over afternoon tea.
SPIE/OSA Optics Intro Workshop (Professional Development)
January 13 2017
Our chapter organised an introductory workshop for working with optics, aimed at students
who participated in the University of Auckland summer studentship program. The workshop
allowed the students who are new to experimental optics to gain experience working in
several of our research labs. The workshop supplied students with the basic skills required in
optics research, such as laser safety, cleaning optics, and optical alignment. The workshop
consisted of presentations and practical training provided by members of the student
chapter. The event was a collaboration between the SPIE and OSA student chapters, and for
this full-day event, lunch was provided for all the participants and volunteers.
Optics welcome event (Social)
February 17 2017
We held our first welcome event at the beginning of semester 1 for 2017, with pizza and
juice sponsored by the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies. This
proved to be a fantastic event for the new students to meet the post graduate students and
for the postgraduate student to catch up with each other as the academic year begins. This
was a very successful recruitment event, as we gained more than 15 new membership sign
ups.
MOTAT Science Street Fair (Outreach)
April 1 2017
Student members from our chapter, as well as our faculty advisor Dr Frédérique
Vanholsbeeck volunteered at the Auckland Museum of Transport and Technology to
showcase the Science Street Fair to more than 2000 visitors. We planned and set up various
optics demonstrations and shared our passion for science and technology to kids and adults
alike.
Wicked Science for girl guides (Outreach)
July 19 2017
Members from our chapter volunteered at the University of Auckland to host the visit of girl
guides from regions all over the country. We helped to set up and show demonstrations,
and the girls also had some hands on fun while learning about physics and light.
Time lapse video of the girl guides interacting with our wonderful volunteers:
https://twitter.com/hiitsneelam/status/887572327482892289
Below is also a very cute thank you note from the girls.
SPIE lunch and AGM (Social)
July 21 2017
Our chapter held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the beginning of semester two,
catered with pizza and sweets. This AGM served multiple purposes: for one, it was a great
social event and was a great opportunity to meet new students and catch up with old
friends; two, it was a successful recruitment event with new membership signups; and
three, during this meeting the new officers for 2017 were confirmed via member voting.
4. Future activities
We have many activities planned for the chapter’s second year since establishment. For
example, we aim to host another Optics Intro Workshop at the end of the year to help the
new students ease into working in the lab. We have also contacted Rachel Won, editor of
Nature Photonics, who has confirmed that she will visit Auckland as a SPIE visiting lecturer.
In addition, we will repeat many of the outreach and social events outlined above such as
the MOTAT Science Street Fair event, and the lunch meetings for our members.
5. Financial information
Opening balance (16/11/2016) 0
Income: 2016 SPIE activity grant (500 USD)
+ 689.56
Expenses: SPIE/OSA Optics Intro Workshop SPIE lunch and Annual General Meeting
- 300 - 363
Closing balance (1/8/2017) + 26.56
6. Special acknowledgements
Very warm regards to our faculty advisor, Dr Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, whose strong
support from the beginning encouraged us to establish the SPIE student chapter. Dr
Vanholsbeeck is an avid science communicator and supporter for women in science and is a
fantastic role model for all. We are also very grateful for the support from a range of
different organisations. Namely, the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum
Technologies were very generous and was the sponsor for the Auckland Photonics
Workshop, Andy Brown’s guest lecture, and the optics welcome event. The Department of
Physics of the University of Auckland were also extremely supportive of the chapter’s
activities, and the department’s support made it possible for us to hold many of the events
outlined above.
