International Day of Light at Flandrau, Current Students and Alumni Help Celebrate

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Students from the Wyant College of Optical Sciences—Greg Nero, Khawlah Al Yahyaei, and Lily McKenna—participated in the recent International Day of Light Celebration on May 19 at the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium. They were joined by a number of alumni and industry volunteers including Sarina Grijalva (OSC BS 2022; Optical Support, Inc.), Victor Densmore (OSC MS 2018; Ruda-Optical), Noah Hamstra (OSC BS 2020; Edmund Optics), Tilman Stuhlinger (OSC PhD 1984; Ruda-Optical) and CJ Smith (AZ Astrobiology Center). They ran several hands-on demo tables from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, demonstrating optical concepts such as diffraction and birefringence with attendees of all ages.

A highlight of the event was the participation of Olivia Fehlberg, an alumnus of the Wyant College (BS 2016) and current employee at Edmund Optics. She hosted the 2:00 pm full-dome show "Incoming!," narrated by George Takei, which explored the impact of asteroids and comets on Earth and the technologies used to detect them. This show was followed by a talk on the OSIRIS-REx mission.

The event also featured the 3:30 pm full-dome show "5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI," hosted by Dr. Lukas Gruber from Leonardo Electronics. This session delved into the work of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and was followed by a live star talk, provided by Dr. Stéphanie Juneau, Associate Astronomer from NOIRLab.

The event was another fantastic celebration of the importance of optics and photonics in today's world. If you're interested in volunteering for future Optics Valley outreach events that showcase optics, photonics and astronomy, sign-up here.