Lightwave receives SPIE Activity Award for International Year of Light

The ORC’s Optical Society Student Chapter has been awarded an SPIE International Year of Light (IYL) Activity Grant to support its Lightwave programme in 2015.

The ORC’s Lightwave Outreach Education programme is run by PhD students with an interest in optics. Targeted at primary and secondary schools, the group aims to teach children about light, but more importantly to get them engaged and interested in the wide world of optics and science.

Lightwave Director Matthew Posner said: “I am delighted that Lightwave has been recognised by the SPIE as worthy of this award. The support will help us expand our portfolio of activities to showcase how important light is as a communication tool. We plan to run a mixture of events for schools and for the general public with the hope to raise awareness in the local community of the importance of photonics on our daily lives.â€?

Professor Michael Butler, Associate Dean for Enterprise and Impact, Physical Sciences and Engineering, said: “Inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers is vital for the future of our Faculty, our disciplines and society as a whole. We are proud to see Lightwave receiving this SPIE award and we are delighted to be supporting the programme during the International Year of Light in its work of educating children about the fascinating world of light and optics.â€?

Lightwave will kick off the International Year of Light by running photonic workshops and classes from January through to March. The group will also be returning to the University’s Science and Engineering Family Day on 14th March 2015 and its presence will be felt throughout 2015.