Prism Week 2024
OSC Student
With more than 60 attendees between in-person and online students, Prism Week received positive feedback from our attendees and guest speakers. A whole week dedicated to celebrating diversity and inclusion was not a trivial matter to plan, but our determined members of the Women in Optics (WiO) Club pulled it off once again. We had Meet-and-Greets with OPTICA and SPIE chapters from Japan, Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Rochester, Canada, India, Belgium, Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina where we enjoyed learning about their research and work they do as chapters around the world. We hope to bring some of the awesome ideas we heard to our college!
We also had an inspiring technical talk with Prof. Jennifer Barton and Prof. Kanu Sinha, in which they shared their inspirational path to get to where they are today and also their fascinating research work. The Town Hall on Wednesday was enlightening as students' concerns were voiced and acknowledged by our deans Tom Koch, Dean and Professor; Brian Anderson, Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Affairs; and John Koshel, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
We had an interesting discussion on Academia vs Industry with Prof. Travis Sawyer, Prof. Hong Hua, Research Scientist Allison Rubenok, Jeff Morris from Edmund Optics, and Johanna Schmit from 4D Technology. We shared our experiences in the imposter syndrome workshop with PhD Educational Psychology student, Morgan Demaree. And we ended Prism Week with yoga on the third-floor patio and a social event at Gentle Ben's.
We would like to thank everyone who attended any of our events and we hope it was a positive experience overall. Also, we hope to provide more networking and social opportunities and we would love to hear any ideas for events you would like to see in our college.
~ Written by Paola Luna, Wyant College of Optical Sciences PhD Student & WiO Member
To find more information about Prism Week and view slides from the sessions, see the official Prism Week website, created by OSC PhD student & WiO Webmaster, Natzem Lima.
A special thanks from the Wyant College of Optical Sciences to all students, faculty and staff who supported this amazing series of events!
Photos below were taken and provided by Paola Luna and Isabella Aguilera Cuenca (labeled OSC Student) and Gretchen Wirges.
