2018 OSA Ambassador Laura Coyle in an optical engineer at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado.  Laura completed her BA in Physics and Applied Mathematics at Colgate University, followed by her MS and PhD in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona.  Laura was a member of Dr. James Burge’s Large Optics Fabrication and Testing Group, where her research focused on the use of computer generated holograms to align and calibrate complex optical systems, often for ground-based astronomical telescopes.

At Ball Aerospace, Laura works in the Civil Space business unit supporting a number of flight programs and internal research and development efforts.  She is a member of the team responsible for the alignment and performance characterization of the Operational Land Imager 2 instrument for the Landsat-9 mission, as well as a member of the optical test team and on-orbit commissioning team for the James Webb Space Telescope.  She is also involved in business development activities, primarily aimed at technology development for future NASA flagship missions.

Laura has been an active OSA member since 2009.  During her time as a student at the University of Arizona, she served as a member of the joint OSA/SPIE Student Chapter Executive Committee for 4 years.  She was a member of the planning committee for the IONS-NA 2 meeting in Tucson, AZ and participated in OSA sponsored events such as Congressional Visit Days and the OFT/IODC Meetings.  She was awarded OSA’s Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship in 2013. She is currently a reviewer for Optics Express, continues to attend OSA sponsored conferences, and has given lectures and served on panels at the OSA sponsored Optics and Photonics Winter School and Workshop at the College of Optical Sciences.  Laura is passionate about the field of optics and welcomes opportunities to engage with other optics professionals, students considering careers in optics, and the general public.