Awards, Editors, and Women in Optics and Photonics
by Pedro Vallejo-Ramirez
Today was quite an eventful day at FiO! A plenary session starring the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, a plethora of awards for students and renowned members, a networking event with the editors of major science journals, and a talk on the Role of women and minorities in Optics and Photonics were the highlights of the day.
The evening kicked off with an opportunity to meet the editors of the well-known journals published by the OSA, including Optics Letters, Advances on Optics and Photonics, Optical Materials Express, JOSA A, JOSA B, and the newest journal for Optics and Photonics, Optica. I got the opportunity to meet Alison Taylor, the recently elected executive editor for Optica. Alison received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Strathclyde and her Ph.D in physics from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom. Alison has excellent experience working in the scientific publishing world, including her time at AIP publishing and at the American Physical Society. “I want to make sure science is appropriately communicated”, Alison says when discussing her passion for scientific articles and publishing, her goal is to uphold a standard of excellence in both content and form in scientific papers.
Shortly after this session, I walked into a reception focused on the role of women and minorities in optics and photonics; a group of men and women were deeply engaged in conversations around light refreshments. Dr. Jessie Rosenberg from IBM joined the conversation via web-cam and outlined statistics showing how, even though the number of women in science is rising steadily, there is still prevalent inequality between men and women in terms of job opportunities and salaries (with a focus on the optics industry). This is an important discussion that will continue as more women take authority roles in industry and academia; it is time to leave behind false stereotypes and erroneous mindsets of male superiority in STEM.
As the sun goes down in Tucson, attendees plan to settle down and relax with light drinks, good appetizers, and the cool wind from the surrounding desert. Tomorrow will be filled with spectacular talks on all varieties of optical topics, so get a good night’s sleep and get ready!
I will see you all tomorrow!
Good night, and good luck,
Pedro
Posted: 21 Oct 2014 by Pedro Vallejo-Ramirez