p2016 Illinois Wesleyan University Annual Report Spring 2016 Officers: Position Officer SPIE Number

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1 p2016 Illinois Wesleyan University Annual Report Chapter Officers: Spring 2016 Officers: Position Officer SPIE Number President Shiv Patel Vice President Julia Savich Secretary Zhenghao Ding Treasurer Madeline Lyons Fall 2016 Officers: Position Officer SPIE Number President Kathryn Yarnot Vice President Shiv Patel Secretary Mark Siegel Treasurer Emily Gail Brown In order to synchronize our executive board turnover w ith the Illinois Wesleyan University academic calendar, elections were held in the spring for the school year. The current officers will remain on the executive board for the remainder of the school year, with minimal changes. Additionally, our faculty advisor--since our chapter s founding in November of has been SPIE Fellow Dr. Gabriel Spalding.

2 Chapter Members: Current Members (paying SPIE members): Hank Bolon Emily Brown Zhenghao Ding Ziyan Liu Lunjun Liu Madeline Lyons Nicholas Milcik Shivum Patel Robin Williams Kathryn Yarnot Ruomeng Zhang In addition to the group of paying SPIE members, we have a large number of members who we are encouraging to join SPIE, but they are are still realizing the value of membership. Current Members (non-paying SPIE members): Binh Phan Hamzah Khan Jake Malzenski Jacob Henry Joseph Ziegel Anthony Deluca Ruiqing Sun Ryan Ozelie Sarah Pombar

3 Chapter Activities Note: Chapter Activities: November 17th, 2015: Solar Car Construction and Invisibility Kit Night The last meeting of the school year consisted of constructing a small, battery powered car that we will add a solar panel to in the spring. With the addition of the solar panel, our members can learn about optoelectronics and photovoltaics. The invisibility kit was modeled off of the optical cloaking research conducted at the University of Rochester. We were able to arrange a set of four lenses to create blind spots for observers. Members took optical properties of lenses--both in our eyes and on the table--when setting up the kit. We also discussed the practical applications of optical cloaking.

4 January 20th, 2016: Member Opportunities In this meeting we discussed how to best go about looking for and applying to REUs for new members, particularly for the benefit of first year students. Also, we went into further detail to help our international student members learn where they can find access to REUs and how they can apply to them. Also, we addressed similar opportunities and scholarships available through being a member of SPIE. After this, we continued working on our small scale solar car, and discussed the possibility of a trip to Fermilab. February 3rd, 2016: Lens Invisibility Kit, Light Blox In this meeting, we brought back out the invisibility kit so that members who did not have the chance to see it or learn about optical cloaking got a chance to. We also brought out our Light Blox kit so that members could enjoy learning about light in terms of reflection, refraction, and color. March 2nd, 2016: Hologram Night This night, SPIE meet to create holograms. Using the laser cutter in one of the physics labs, we cut out (from a plastic CD case) the pieces to assemble our very own hologram projector screens that are compatible with our phones, allowing our members to see practical application of simple optical phenomena. We also made one big enough to be used with a laptop.

5 September 7th, 2016: SPIE Introduction This was the first meeting of the year, so we discussed our plans for the year, which included going through with last year s plans to build a solar car, and possibly bringing back the microscope construction project that our chapter of SPIE did last semester. We also discussed the importance of joining SPIE and becoming an official member. Also, since this was the first meeting, our new first year student members introduced themselves and got to know everyone else. September 21st: Planning and Input from Members In this meeting, we discussed further our plans for the year, including possible projects like the solar car and possible demos including the Electron Microscope on campus. Also, we informed our members of the annual picnic our chapter of SPIE will be hosting along with IWU s Society of Physics Students, to be held on the 24th of the month. Ended in a general discussion of interesting fields and upperclassmen experiences in the realm of physics. The topics included quantum entanglement, ghost imaging, teleportation of information, and ion trapping, while the experiences included previous trips to Chicago and the Argonn National Laboratory. September 24th, 2016: SPIE/Society of Physics Students Annual Picnic SPIE and IWU s Society of Physics Students registered student organization co-hosted the annual physics department picnic on the main quad of IWU. New students got to meet the faculty of the department and also got to see and participate in various physics demos. As has become tradition, we brought out our Fresnel lens to explore refraction and the focusing of light by burning several pennies and acorns, while also bringing back our super bubble juice to explore more effects of the refraction of light and some properties of viscous liquids.

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7 October 1st, 2016: Homecoming Booth For IWU s homecoming, 2016, our chapter of SPIE, our chapter of IEEE, and our other physics club on campus, the Society of Physics Students combined our forces to run a small table for the homecoming festivities. At said table, alumni could look through a catalogue of other physics/engineering alumni from IWU s past as well as see multiple demos, though the demos were more for any children that came with the alumni. These demos included our holograms, our optical cloaking kit, dropping a magnet through a copper wire to explain induction, and a wheel on a rope to demonstrate torque. October 5th, 2016: Khet, Optical Chess We discussed possible outreach opportunities with the Boy s and Girl s Club, including easy to build microscopes, simple holograms, and pinhole cameras. After this, we let members explore a board game called Khet, which plays a bit like chess, but uses lasers and a system of lenses and mirrors on pieces, thus becoming a fun way to learn about partial and complete reflection and transmission.

8 Chapter Outreach: November 14th, 2015: Microscope Construction with Elementary School Students We worked with Tia Patsavas through the Action Research Center on campus and the Tool Library to build low-cost, robust microscopes out of plexiglass and wood with elementary school students from the Bloomington-Normal community. 14 students attended the event with their parents. This was an opportunity to develop relationships with students in the local community and encourage science in areas of low socioeconomic status. We were able to explain some of the basic properties of lenses to the students, and they were very excited to have new microscopes to take home.

9 April 8th, 2016: Elementary School Outreach We attended a local elementary school s science fair. We were able to teach and entertain the kids there with the science of lava lamps and we were also able to show the kids our newly made hologram collection. Future Plans: Acquire and Build Solar RC Car Currently the main goal of our chapter. Elementary school outreach Internships Scholarships Laser cutter Meetings Wednesday at 6pm Budget: Credits: Activity Grant: $700 Debits: Food for the 1/20 meeting: $44.43 \ Food for the 2/3 meeting: $ amount reimbursed to Shiv was $129.51, so $10.72 Food for the 2/17 meeting: $37.62 / must have been spent on drinks or supplies too Food for the 3/2 meeting: $59.76

10 Supplies for Physics Phun Night on 3/4: $30 (amount reimbursed to Emily Brown) Food for the 4/6 meeting: $61.43 Food for the 4/13 meeting: $53.12 Food for the 9/7 meeting: $35.85 Food for the 9/21 meeting: $41.03 Food for the 10/5 meeting: $39.36 Food for the 10/19 meeting: $37.36 Ending Remaining Balance: $ We used all of the money spent exactly as described in the activity grant request. We were significantly under budget because almost all of the supplies we used for our meetings were borrowed from our physics department. As a result, we ended up with a slightly higher remaining balance than anticipated. Additional Information: In addition to our meetings and events, our chapter actively maintains a Facebook page ( ) that receives high traffic from our members. On the page, we post about upcoming meetings, share exciting science news, and encourage members to suggest potential optics related meeting topics. Alumni, current students, and professors make up the members of the group ACTIVITY GRANT SUGGESTED SPENDING (WHEN APPLYING IN 2015): Snacks for bi-weekly meetings (approximately three large pizzas for each meeting and two two-liters of soda per meeting with around 15 meetings a year): $350 Supplies for Solar Car (including solar panels, car batteries, metal and wood for car frame, electrical components, and other unexpected expenses): $450 General meeting supplies (fliers, posters, small prizes for meeting activities): $60 "Field trip" transportation costs (gas money for visiting a nearby optics production facility for learning or elementary school for outreach): $20 Outreach supplies (fliers, handouts for Registered Student Organization fair at the beginning of the year): $20