1. Names and email addresses of elected officers Officers for 2017-2018: 1 SPIE Student Chapter Annual Report Harvard University (Harvard Photonics) May 2016 May 2017 Name Office Email SPIE # Victoria Hwang President vhwang@g.harvard.edu 3770439 Soeren Brandt Vice President soerenbrandt@g.harvard.edu 3783936 Andrew Greenspon Treasurer andy.greenspon@gmail.com 3579175 Daryl Vulis Secretary darylvulis@gmail.com Annie Stephenson Noah Rubin Industry, Outreach, and Events Co-coordinator Industry, Outreach, and Events Co-coordinator stephenson@g.harvard.edu noahrubin@seas.harvard.edu Prof. Eric Mazur Advisor mazur@seas.harvard.edu Anna Shneidman Additional Advisors ashneidm@gmail.com Ida Pavlichenko Additional Advisors idapav@gmail.com We had elections in August 2017 and elected the officers listed above. 2. List of current student chapter members We have approximately 200 students on our mailing list. Of these, # are student members of SPIE and # are alumni (roster below): Member Roster Name Expires Soeren Brandt 11 September 2018 Michael Coughlin 27 June 2018 Andrew Greenspon 4 November 2017 Victoria Hwang 11 September 2018 Janani Iyer 15 December 2017 Su-Jin Jeon 19 January 2018 Ji-Hoon Kim 11 December 2017 Pawel Latawiec 14 March 2018 Jun-Hee Park 11 December 2017 Vicente Parot 22 December 2017 Nabiha Saklayen 15 January 2018 Alumni Roster #Unknown (need to find out from SPIE)
3. Details of chapter activities since last report During the past year, the Harvard Photonics Chapter has held a number of events for students, researchers, and the general public. We have also sustained our level of membership and recruited new members to take on leadership roles and develop new activities and events to help the club grow to reach and impact a wider audience. A list of our events with their dates is included at the end of this section. Our biweekly journal club continues to be a popular way for students to learn about recent research results in photonics and be introduced to our student chapter. A different student volunteer chooses a paper to present every other week, which provides a diverse set of topics and presentation styles. A group of approximately 10-15 students attend each time. Grant funding was used to provide a pizza lunch for these events. The presentations have ranged from landmark papers (e.g. diamond photonics, structural color) presented by a member of that research group, to a more comprehensive review of certain topics (biological photonic structures). These informal events have a welcoming atmosphere and allow students and researchers from different groups and areas to mingle. Many students have become more involved in the chapter after first attending journal clubs. We also launched a new seminar series this past year called Professors Tell All These talks have featured experienced professors from diverse backgrounds such as Profs. Eric Mazur, Joanna Aizenberg, Evelyn Hu, and Federico Capasso. In keeping with the title of the talk, professors are encouraged to describe their personal journeys to where they are today, in addition to their research accomplishments, and furthermore, candidly answer questions posed by students in both of those areas. These events have been very popular, and we have had up to 40-50 students and researchers from different departments and research areas attend a talk. After the hour-long presentation and Q&A session, there is also a reception with refreshments where the audience can continue to interact with the speaker and each other. The professors participating in the events gave excellent advice and insights. And we ve received positive feedback from the attendees. 2
Pictures from Selected Professors Tell All Events: Professors Tell All with Professor Federico Capasso: 3
Professors Tell All with Professor Joanna Aizenberg: 4
Another event that the chapter held was a daylong regional conference for local students and researchers in the areas of optics and photonics. We had over 170 attendees from local universities including MIT, Boston University, Tufts, UMass Boston, and researchers from labs and industry. The conference featured three plenary speakers: Ed Boyden, Peter Moulton, and Theodore Moustakas, 17 oral presentations, and 54 poster presentations. There were also industry recruiters, a reception following the event, and even a Science as Art competition. Because of the large scale of the event, we also obtained financial support from companies such as Xerox PARC, Pendar, Thorlabs, and Edmund Optics to pay for catering and renting the conference venue on the Harvard campus. Although it was the first time we organized a conference, the event was very successful, thanks to a dedicated team of more than a dozen student volunteers, including members of the executive board. We also surveyed the attendees following the conference for feedback and received great reviews. A senior researcher who responded said that our conference was among the best that he has ever attended. We also learned a great deal from the experience, from logistics to reviewing submitted abstracts, which will allow us to improve for future large-scale events. During and after the conference, we also met with members of the Boston University chapter, who expressed interest in holding a similar event on their campus in 2018. We offered our expertise and will help them with their conference. Please see the appendix at the end of this report for a picture recap of the conference. We have also held a number of smaller-scale events, including a seminar from a visiting industry speaker. In February, Mark Wade from Ayar Labs, a microelectronics-photonics startup visited various groups on campus and gave a candid talk describing his transition from grad school to start-up life. The event was well attended, and students were able to ask a wide range of questions and continue discussion at dinner with the speaker. In August 2017, we also helped co-organize a solar eclipse viewing on the Harvard campus where students and members of the public were welcome to attend and view the eclipse with the cardboard glasses that we received from SPIE and via several projection telescopes. We also held regular executive board meetings where we reviewed finances, planned and organized for upcoming events, and brainstormed new ideas to expand participation in the chapter and range of activities offered. For the conference especially, we held many meetings to plan for the event, and to delegate tasks for the student volunteers, which helped allow it to run smoothly and be well-received by the attendees. Selected list of non-journal club events and their dates: (Journal club occurred ~every two weeks except during holidays) 7/7/16 Photonics board meeting 8/9/16 Photonics board meeting 8/31/16 Photonics board meeting 9/8/16 Professors Tell All seminar: Eric Mazur 9/29/16 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 10/6/16 Professors Tell All seminar: Joanna Aizenberg 10/19/16 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 10/25/16 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 11/3/16 Professors Tell All seminar: Evelyn Hu 11/11/16 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 5
12/8/16 Professors Tell All seminar: Federico Capasso 1/9/17 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 1/17/17 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 2/3/17 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference Planning 2/17/17 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference prep meeting 2/22/17 Industry talk: Mark Wade from Ayar Labs 2/25/17 Boston Photonics Centennial Conference 3/10/17 Photonics board meeting: Centennial Conference debrief meeting 4/1/17 Harvard Photonics meeting with BU Photonics chapter 6/28/17 Photonics board meeting 8/22/17 Photonics board meeting: new officers elected 9/12/17 Photonics board meeting: Planning events for the semester 4. Planned activities for the future With the election of the new board in August 2017, several new board members expressed interest on increasing our club s connection with industry. This can include increasing programing from industry speakers, or working more closely with local companies to expand the career opportunities for members of the chapter and other students who plan to work in industry after graduation. As mentioned earlier, we have also contacted the student chapter at Boston University, who are planning in the coming year to host another Boston-area wide conference for students and researchers in optics and photonics. We also plan to work together for other joint events in the upcoming year. There are also a number of events that we have held regularly that we plan on continuing for the upcoming year. We will continue to hold Photonics Journal Club, since it has been a mainstay of the chapter and a good way to recruit new members and for existing members to get to know each other. We are going to re-vamp this regular event to make it even more engaging for our community. Recently we started having a landmark papers series as described in section 3. We may also try to have broader themed presentations such as photonics in space or photonics in philanthropy or even wild experiments in photonics to reach a broader audience and have community members understand the impacts of their research outside of the lab. And we are also considering adding some interesting chalk talks involving fundamental optics. We plan to have another series of Professors speak for Professors Tell All. We will also invite some industry speakers for that series as Professionals Tell All to give similar talks about their personal journeys and answer candid questions from the audience. We unfortunately missed the Cambridge Science Festival in April 2017, but we plan to continue our presence at the Cambridge Science Festival this coming spring while also looking for additional outreach opportunities. 6
5. Financial information Date Funding Source (Income) or Event (Expenditure) 7 Income (+) ($) Expenditure (-) ($) Balance ($) Starting Balance $1,779.28 9/7/2016 9/12/2016 Professors Tell All: Eric Mazur - Refreshments $(315.41) $1,463.87 Professors Tell All: Eric Mazur - Refreshments (charge back) $99.98 $1,563.85 9/20/2016 Check Order $(23.72) $1,540.13 10/11/2016 10/11/2016 10/11/2016 10/11/2016 11/2/2016 12/8/2016 12/19/2016 12/21/2016 12/21/2016 12/26/2016 1/11/2017 1/12/2017 SPIE (2016 Grant) $900.00 $2,440.13 Journal Club Pizza Fall Meetings $(60.00) $2,380.13 Journal Club Pizza Fall Meetings $(500.00) $1,880.13 Professor's Tell All: Joanna Aizenberg - Refreshments $(109.08) $1,771.05 Professor's Tell All: Evelyn Hu - Refreshments $(71.61) $1,699.44 Professors Tell All: Federico Capasso - Refreshments $(82.87) $1,616.57 Fio/LS Travel Grant Support, Professors Tell All Series Food $(193.64) $1,422.93 BPCC Sponsor - Pendar Technologies $700.00 $2,122.93 BPCC: Gnomon Copy - Printing Flyers $(70.50) $2,052.43 Journal Club Pizza Fall Meetings $(386.59) $1,665.84 BPCC Sponsor OSA ($2,000), Thorlabs ($1,000) $3,000.00 $4,665.84 Photo Paper to Print Flyers for BPCC $(39.96) $4,625.88 1/19/2017 BPCC Sponsor PARC Xerox $1,500.00 $6,125.88 2/3/2017 BPCC Sponsor - Edmund Optics $400.00 $6,525.88 2/21/2017 BPCC - CostCo Food, Supplies $(447.91) $6,077.97 2/22/2017 BPCC - CostCo Beer $(340.95) $5,737.02
2/23/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering Charge Back $15.00 $5,752.02 2/23/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering $(1,013.76) $4,738.26 2/24/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering $(45.80) $4,692.46 2/24/2017 BPCC Planning - Pizza $(128.89) $4,563.57 2/24/2017 Mark Wade Talk - Pizza $(177.08) $4,386.49 2/27/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering $(1,646.45) $2,740.04 2/27/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering 8 $(159.97) $2,580.07 2/27/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering $(159.97) $2,420.10 2/27/2017 BPCC - Whole Foods Catering $(159.97) $2,260.13 2/27/2017 BPCC: Whole Foods - Catering $(239.94) $2,020.19 3/3/2017 BPCC Registration Fees $1,930.00 $3,950.19 3/6/2017 BPCC: Best Poster/Science as Art Awards - Amazon Gift Cards (1 x $50, 4 x $25) $(150.00) $3,800.19 3/6/2017 Mark Wade Talk - Drinks $(6.96) $3,793.23 3/6/2017 BPCC - Booklet Printing $(444.80) $3,348.43 3/6/2017 3/6/2017 3/6/2017 BPCC - Badge Paper and Badge Holders $(97.95) $3,250.48 BPCC - Total Wine - Wine for reception and Keynote/Invited Speaker Gifts $(239.46) $3,011.02 BPCC - Miscellaneous remaining food/supplies $(66.14) $2,944.88 3/6/2017 BPCC - Instacart from CostCo $(432.02) $2,512.86 3/6/2017 3/6/2017 3/8/2017 3/8/2017 3/13/2017 3/17/2017 BPCC - Gift bags and gift cards for keynote/invited speakers $(60.24) $2,452.62 BPCC - Parking passes for Keynote Speakers $(24.00) $2,428.62 BPCC - MCB Graphics - Printing Two Sponsor Posters $(121.20) $2,307.42 BPCC - MCB Graphics - Printing Science as Art Posters $(81.80) $2,225.62 BPCC - Volunteer appreciation gift - 7 Harvard mugs from Harvard COOP $(73.49) $2,152.13 BPCC - Appreciation Dinner - Olecito's $(170.28) $1,981.85
3/17/2017 3/17/2017 3/17/2017 4/6/2017 4/6/2017 4/10/2017 4/10/2017 4/11/2017 4/24/2017 5/1/2017 5/11/2017 5/11/2017 6/19/2017 6/19/2017 Professors Tell All Two Baguettes $(15.00) $1,966.85 BPCC - Appreciation Dinner - Groceries ($68 - $60 from three cash day-of registrations) $(8.00) $1,958.85 BPCC - Austin Tripp Registration Refund as Volunteer $(11.54) $1,947.31 BPCC - Custodial Fees - Original Deposit $(250.00) $1,697.31 BPCC - Custodial Fees (Partial) $(638.03) $1,059.28 3/10/2017 $(87.00) $972.28 3/24/2017 $(75.28) $897.00 SEAS Grant ($600), OSA 2017 Grant ($400) $1,000.00 $1,897.00 4/7/2017 $(76.25) $1,820.75 BPCC - LED Bracelets for Organizers at Conference $(21.98) $1,798.77 4/21/2017 $(76.25) $1,722.52 5/5/2017 $(76.25) $1,646.27 6/2/2017 $(76.25) $1,570.02 6/16/2017 $(76.25) $1,493.77 7/10/2017 BPCC Alcohol Serving Staff $(200.00) $1,293.77 7/25/2017 7/26/2017 8/28/2017 8/28/2017 7/11/2017 $(76.25) $1,217.52 7/25/2017 $(101.81) $1,115.71 8/8/2017 $(101.81) $1,013.90 Photonics Club Elections - Pizza - 8/22/2017 $(102.48) $911.42 9
The table above provides a record of chapter income and expenditures between May 2016 and August 2017 (we did not use any funds over the summer of 2016). We began with carried over funds from SPIE, OSA, and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). We have received grants from SPIE, OSA and the Harvard SEAS for our activities. We have not requested our activity grant money from SPIE for 2017 yet. For the Boston Photonics Centennial Conference (BPCC) that we ran, we received money from OSA, multiple corporate sponsors (see Section 3 and our income sources above), and conference registration fees. All the money we received specifically for the conference was spent on the conference. Day to day chapter expenditures were primarily used for 1) lunches associated with the photonics journal club and 2) refreshments for the Professors Tell All Series in Fall 2016 and 3) refreshments for the Mark Wade talk (see Section 3 for further description). Cost per event varied based on attendance (see Section 3 for approximate attendance numbers). General purposes SPIE grant money was used in conjunction with OSA and Harvard SEAS money for all of these events. For the 2017-2018 year, we are planning to spend money towards the re-vamped photonics journal club as well as additional Professors and Professionals Tell All events. We were unable to attend the Cambridge Science Festival in April 2017, but plan to do so in April 2018 while also seeking out additional outreach opportunities. We also plan to run industryrelated events such as talks, career panels, and networking mixers. We will also work with Boston University as they plan for a follow-up conference to the Boston Photonics Centennial Conference. These activities will form the bulk of our spending from our reserve funds and any additional requested money over the course of the year. Appendix: Picture recap of the first ever Boston Photonics Centennial Conference BPCC Highlights 2017 Harvard SEAS Photonics Club 10
BPCC Participating Institutions Harvard University MIT Boston University UMass Boston MIT Lincoln Laboratory Draper Laboratory Tufts, UW-Madison, Analog Devices, and more 11
BPCC Quotes I have been to a lot of conferences with Science as Art but this was above and beyond the most aesthetically pleasing - the arrangement, printing, everything! Jordan, Harvard University That was the best 20 dollars for a conference I ve ever spent! - Christy Wow, you guys went above and beyond! This spread is amazing! I wish more of the people from our group had attended today. You guys put on an excellent event Sandra, New England OSA Chapter *names anonymized 12
BPCC Sponsors 5 sponsors 2 sponsor booths 3 sponsor representatives Thanks to your support, majority of print, food, coffee, and operational costs covered! 13