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17 October 2014
OSA Kicks off International Year of Light Educational Efforts at Frontiers in Optics 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org
OSA Kicks off International Year of Light Educational Efforts at Frontiers in Optics 2014
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2014—The Optical Society (OSA) today announced that its annual meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2014, taking place next week in Tucson, Arizona, USA, will serve as the launch for its extensive educational outreach associated with the 2015 International Year of Light (IYL). At FiO, OSA will debut a new IYL poster series, classroom education kit and announce $20,000 USD in grants for IYL-related educational activities.The new IYL “Make Waves – Discover Science” poster series explores hot topics in optics and photonics and are titled “Power of Light” and “Microscopy.” The posters, created in conjunction with The OSA Foundation, are aimed at a middle-school grade level and are available in in English, Spanish, French, German and Simplified Chinese. The posters will be distributed to OSA’s network of 350 Student Chapters and science educators for use in classrooms around the world. OSA will also distribute 500 “Light Blox” Kits—the official IYL kit developed by Laser Classroom™. The kits, which feature simple demonstrations of optics concepts for students in grades 6-8, will be given to OSA Student Chapters worldwide to use in their outreach efforts as well as to local science teachers in Tucson as part of OSA’s Science Educators’ Day at FiO.
OSA will also make available $20,000 in grants for OSA Student Chapters to use for IYL-themed education outreach in 2015. Grants will be awarded for IYL activities, such as classroom demonstrations, “Day of Optics” special events and other public outreach efforts.
“The primary goal of the International Year of Light is to raise public awareness of the importance of light and the technologies it enables,” said OSA CEO Elizabeth Rogan. “As a founding partner of IYL and as the leading professional society in optics and photonics, OSA is committed to creating opportunities to highlight the excitement of optics to students of all ages. The programs set to launch at FiO next week will kick off several months of IYL celebration and activities by OSA.”
More information on OSA’s educational outreach programs is available on the OSA website, Optics4Kids.org. To donate to these or other OSA Foundation-supported activities, visit www.OSA.org/donate.
About OSA
Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and entrepreneurs who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. OSA is a founding partner of the National Photonics Initiative and the 2015 International Year of Light. For more information, visit www.osa.org.
