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05 October 2010
International Optics Students to Gather in Recife for IONS-SA-1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org
International Optics Students to Gather in Recife for IONS-SA-1
WASHINGTON, October 5 – The Federal University of Pernambuco student chapter of the Optical Society (OSA) hosted the first-ever South American conference of the International OSA Network of Students (IONS-SA-1) in Recife, Brazil, from September 29 to October 1 at the Golden Tulip Recife Palace. IONS-SA-1 featured technical and professional development programming for students in the field of optics and photonics. The event, organized in parallel with the Latin American Optics and Photonics Conference (LAOP) 2010, is co-sponsored by the Optical Society (OSA).
Highlights of IONS-SA-1 included:
- Scientific sessions featuring keynote speaker Dr. Thomas M. Baer, OSA’s 2009 President and Executive Director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center. The scientific session also included student technical talks and poster sessions as well as an award for the best presentation.
- Lab tours at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) Physics Department, networking and social events, and excursions to Recife and other Brazilian landmarks.
IONS was first created in 2006 during OSA’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO), by several OSA student chapters that wanted to bring together young scientists from around the world and facilitate active discussions about their research in optics and photonics. All IONS meetings are independently managed by OSA student chapters. Thus far, 13 IONS meetings have been held around the world since 2006.
“IONS’ student members work tirelessly to give young researchers more opportunities for personal and professional development as well as for scientific collaboration,” said OSA President James Wyant. “Young scientists attending IONS have the chance to further the international discussion on optics and photonics. OSA is proud to be a sponsor of IONS-SA-1 and looks forward to continuing to support these events.”
In total, there will be five IONS meetings held in 2010 including March’s meeting in Ireland, June’s meeting in Russia and the concurrent meeting in Arizona. The next IONS meetings will be held in Dunedin, New Zealand. IONS meetings take place each year in Europe, North America, South America and Asia/Australia. More information about IONS-SA-1 and other IONS events are available at ions-project.org.
About OSA
Uniting more than 106,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.
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