Annual Report

Annual Report 2013-2014 Student chapter: KU Leuven, Belgium Chapter advisor: Prof Dr Koen Clays Chapter ID: 1052438 1 Chapter members By the end of September 2014, with an active year in optics, the number of members increased from 28 to 35. The student chapter organized about one activity per month, ranging from technical seminars, company visits or a symposium to more casual activities such as lunches, bowling. 2014 Chapter officers: Function Name Email SPIE ID President Bart Kenens Bart.kenens@chem.kuleuven.be 3443242 Vice president Barbara Gysbrechts Barbara.Gysbrechts@fys.kuleuven.be 3523365 Secretary Griet Depotter griet.depotter@chem.kuleuven.be 3383376 Treasurer Karen Markley Karen.Markey@biw.kuleuven.be 3503299 Suppleant Janos Keresztes Janos.keresztes@biw.kuleuven.be 3455772 Members (01-10-2014): 35 Members: Remko Aubert Vincent Gielen Wouter Sempels Wouter Baekelant Barbara Gysbrechts Ivo Stassen Raja Sekhar Bandaru Masanao Inokoshi Liang Su Maarten Bloemen Bart Kenens Thomas Van Stappen Doortje Borrenberghs Janos Keresztes Nick Van Steerteghem Ward Brullot Sarp Kerman Maarten Vanbel Herlinde De Keersmaecker Jiaqi Li Stefaan Vandendriessche Elke De Zitter Julien Mailfert Jeroen Vangindertael Deborah Decrop Karen Markey Louis Vanpraet Pieter-Jan Demeyer Evelien Mathieu Rick Vleugels Griet Depotter Troy Munro Kherim Willems Lieve Dirix Tristan Putzeys

2 Activities We organized activities on a monthly basis. All these events were announced via regular emails and our website (www.spiekul.be). Most activities were also advertised with posters and flyers distributed on the University campus. A more elaborate description of the events can be found below. 2.1 Board Elections (06.09.2013) As every year, a new SPIE board needs to be elected. 17 voting members were present. The votes were collected and counted by the voting supervisor, Dr. Stijn Van Cleuvenbergen. The following board was elected with 15 people in favor and 2 abstinences President: Bart Kenens Vice-President: Barbara Gysbrechts Secretary: Griet Depotter Treasurer: Karen Markley After the election, the electors had the chance to know more about the planned activities of the new board, and network with new members around a pizza.

2.2 Soirée Techniques (24-10-2013) Our first SPIE/OSA Student Chapter activity was co-organized with the IEEE Student Branch of Leuven. A lecture on adaptive optics and free-electron lasers was given by Prof. Emile Schweicher from the Belgian Royal Military School. About 10 SPIE members attended, while 20 IEEE members joined and discovered the world of optics. The first part of the lecture described the basics principals of adaptive optics, how laser beam profiles can be deformed during their propagation in various atmospheric conditions. After introducing the physical principles and the optical methods to correct for laser aberrations, the audience was presented several working military laser weapons. The second part of the seminar was focused on free electron lasers, mainly its principles and where there can be found for research purposes. Few applications were further presented. After the seminar, the attendees were kindly invited for a drink, where IEEE and SPIE-OSA members had a fist positive interaction, and a mutual learning experience. Future collaboration between the branches is planned. 2.3 frosa meeting (15-11-2013) During this meeting, 2 members presented their latest work and planned experiments. Discussion about their work, solutions to their problems and possible new ideas to explore was held. PhDstudents Griet Depotter and Doortje Borrenberghs presented their PhD subject NLO properties of porphyrin based chromophores, and discussed the progress and difficulties during their research. After the meeting, we gave the opportunity to members from different photonics disciplines to interact during lunch with French fries. 18 persons attended the event.

2.4 SPIE invited lecture: Jean-Luc Doumont (04-12-2013) On Wednesday 4 December 2012, SPIE student chapter KU Leuven organized a lecture given by Dr. Jean-Luc Doumont. After the successful session of last year, "Structuring your scientific paper", high hopes were set on this year's edition Traditions, templates, and group leaders. Inviting all scientific departments and their students of the university was done by e-mails, by distributing posters, and by distributing chocolates with advertisement for the lecture in cafeterias. With an attendance of more than 330 people, the lecture can be considered a great success. Not only people from the academic world, like master students, PhD students and professors were present, also people from the industry showed up, invited by Jean-Luc Doumont. Our President, Bart Kenens, gave a short introduction to the talk, mentioning the chapter and presenting its upcoming activities. During the lecture, Jean-Luc Doumont interactively made the audience aware that the traditional way of making presentations, representing data, etc. is not always the best. Creativeness can lead to much clearer presentation of your scientific results. Whereas group leaders can stick to knowbody else does it like this or it doesn t fit in my template, Jean-Luc Doumont worked on attitude and proposed some effective solutions on how to persuade them.

2.5 SPIE/OSA Quiz (11-12-2013) The major goals of this activity were recruitment and getting to know each other better in a casual setting. It was the first time that our chapter organized a quiz, and with more than 40 participants, this activity was a great success. The quiz was split up in 4 rounds, making the abbreviation SPIE : Round 1 Spectrum, Round 2 Problems, Round 3 (H)idden scientists, and round 4 Energy levels. In between the rounds, drinks and snacks were provided.

2.6 PhD Symposium on optics (09 and 10-01-2014) The goal of the symposium was to extend the scientific knowledge of PhD and master students about optics, and provide networking opportunities for researchers working on optics or photonics. On Thursday 9 th of January, the attendees were introduced to basics optics, providing some basics to master or new PhD students. During the lunch, a poster session was held and awards were given to the 3 best posters. After a lunch break, several researchers had the opportunity to share their research during a poster session. Professor J. A. Shaw, director of the Optical Technology Center and Professor of Electrical Engineering in Physics at the Montana State University, USA kindly accepted our invitation and gave a lecture on optical phenomena such as the influence of ozone in light color reflected from the moon, or Rayleigh scattering principles and its observations in Nature. Our second guest lecturer, Professor Maarten Roeffaers from KU Leuven gave a lecture on the plethora of existing microscopy techniques. On Friday 10 th of January, Prof. Shaw introduced the optical principles lying behind the observation of rainbows, the color of butterfly wings and other optics in nature phenomena. Prof. H. Uji-I from KU Leuven explained the basics of geometric optics through exercises. After lunch, the attendees were given a Laser safety course from Dr. Eduard Fron with a certification worth 1 ECTS. Finally, four practical lab sessions were organized on interferometry, laser collimating, laser alignment, and monochromatic light measurements using a grating and power meters.

Day 1: 9 January 2014 Dag 2: 10 January 2014 8u 30-8u 45 Registration 8u 45-9u 00 Registration 8u 45-10u 30 Basic Optics - Prof. Em. Andre Persoons 9u 00-10u 30 Optics in Nature - Prof. Joseph Shaw 10u 30-10u 45 Break 10u 30-10u 45 Break 10u 45-12u 30 Basic Optics - Prof. Em. Andre Persoons 10u 45-12u 30 Theoretical Exercises - Prof. H. Uji-i Lunch 12u 30-14u 00 Postersession with posterprizes. 12u 30-13u 30 Lunch 14u 00-15u 30 What colour is the sky at night? A tribute to Lord Rayleigh - Prof. Joseph Shaw 13u 30-14u00 14u 00-15u 55 Lasersafety- Dr. Eduard Fron Practical Courses - Dr. S. Van Cleuvenbergen and Dr. E. Fron 15u 30-16u 00 Break 15u 55-16u 05 Break 16u 00-17u 30 Microscopy - Prof. Maarten Roeffaers 16u 05-18u 00 Practical Courses Dr. S. Van Cleuvenbergen and Dr. E. Fron

2.7 SPiezza meeting (14-02-2014) During this general meeting, 2 members presented their latest work and planned experiments. Discussion about their work, solutions to their problems and possible new ideas to explore was held. PhD-students Jeroen van Gindertael and Nick Van Steerteghem presented their PhD subjects: Superresolution fluorescence microscopy and non-linear optics, and discussed the progress and difficulties during their research. After the meeting, we gave the opportunity to members from different photonics disciplines to interact during lunch with pizza. 23 persons attended the event.

2.8 Recruitement activity: Bowling (19-03-2014) On Wednesday 3th of March, the SPIE/OSA student branch organized a bowling activity. The objective of this event was to recruit new members. Two games were offered. The event was advertised on the student branch website, on posters and flyers distributed around the campus. Several flyers were given personal to potential new members. 5 persons joined, this could be explained due to short notice of the event (2 weeks). Although more members were expected, it was a pleasant evening with Belgian beer.

2.9 Company visit to CSL and LASEA (25-04-2014) On Friday 25 th of April, the SPIE/OSA organized a double company visit in the Liege science park of Belgium. The objective was to present several job opportunities in optics, and give the chance to members to learn about optical constraints in space or how lasers can be applied to engraving or cutting. 13 people attended the event. The train and bus transportation from Leuven to the Liege science park were offered by the branch. The first visit was at the Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL). The attendees followed a presentation on Comparison of off-axis TMA and FMA telescopes optimized over different fields of view: applications to Earth observation, by Lionel Clairmont, Optical Engineer. He presented several telescope designs for earth observation using a line scanning hyperspectral imager in the visible and short wave infrared, and their limitations. He further introduced us to his design and described the different steps in optical design, space requirements and costs, optimization and tolerancing. Prof. Nicolas Grevesse, Emeritus Professor in astrophysics, introduced us to the history of the Belgian space quest, current on-going projects at the CSL, and the different fields of expertise covered at the CSL. He further introduced us to space weather and challenges for optical components to sustain in space. After the presentations, the attendees were invited to the cleaning rooms of the CSL. We were first explained the challenges required in clean rooms, then we were further explained how the CSL calibrates space observation instruments. Cuves used to test optical components at high and low temperature, pressure were presented. A lunch was offered for SPIE/OSA members, and reduced price for SPIE only members at the CSL. In the afternoon, the attendees were invited at LASEA, a company specialized in laser micro engraving, laser welding, laser cutting or laser cleaning. A brief introduction to LASEA history and field of expertise was given by Dr. Jose Antonio Campos de Campos. He further presented and demonstrated several laser cutting setups. A final round table was proposed to give the chance to the attendees to ask questions, or informally check for job offers. After the second visit, the group

headed back to Leuven. An ice cream was offered to everyone to chill after the (warm spring) day, before getting on the train homewards.

2.10 SPIEKULographic and BBQ (16-05-2014) SPIEKULographic is the yearly scientific photography contest organized by the SPIE and OSA KU Leuven Student Chapters. The aim of this contest is to show the visualized results of scientific work to the world and to promote the Student Chapter. The pictures need to be assigned a title and a short story. The competition is open for PhD and Master students of the KU Leuven. The award ceremony was accompanied by a BBQ offered to all members. Publicity for this event was done by distributing posters all over the science campuses, e-mails, and an article in the campus news paper. 19 persons attended the event. Tsveta Ivanova, the 3th prize winner, was invited for an interview in the news paper of our university. Jury members President: Prof. Koen Clays, Laboratory for Molecular Electronics and Photonics, Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Prof. Ann Gils, Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Prof. Tom Van Gerven, Process Engineering for Sustainable Systems, Faculty of Engineering Science Prof. Carmen Bartic, Biophysics group, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences Dr. Bart Vandenbussche, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences Dr. Olivier Deschaume, Biophysics group, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences Ranked 1-3: Prizes:

First prize: FNAC coupon (50 euro) Second prize: 2 movie tickets Third prize: SPIE membership (15 euro) Ranked 1-10: A2 sized posters were printed and handed over to the authors after the award ceremony Winners:

2.10 Board elections (12.09.2014) As every year, a new SPIE board needs to be elected. 9 members were present and 3 proxy votings were given, the new board was elected unanimously. President: Barbara Gybrechts Vice-President: Tristan Putzeys Secretary: Janos Keresztes Treasurer: Nick Van Steerteghem After the election, the electors had the new board, and network with new members around Chinese food.

3 Planned Activities From the new elected 2014-2015 board, the following are proposed for the coming year. SPIE Dog Meeting Student meetings will be held on a regular base. In these meetings two students present their current work and a discussion on result, problems and future plans is held. These meetings will be concluded with lunch provided by the student chapter. (Spie Dog: hot dogs, Spiezza: pizza, etc.) Laser tag As a kick-off event of the new academic year 2014-2015, we plan to go laser tagging on our campus. The goal is to get together with current SPIE chapter members and to attract new members. Day of Light On October 21 st 2014, we want to make people aware of the Day of Light. A slide will be shown on the screens in the entrance halls of the different buildings on our campus, and gadgets (e.g. glow in the dark bracelets) will be distributed. Lab visit month In November we will organize a lab visit month. One hour per week, we will visit several laboratories in our university, 3 weeks long. In this way, master students and PhD students will have the ability to network and to create new collaborations. Guest Lecture Jean-Luc Doumont After the successful sessions of last years, Dr. Jean-Luc Doumont confirmed to return to Leuven this year on December 4 th. In dialogue, we agreed that he will give a soft-skill training on Effective page layout for rational minds. For this activity, again we aim for more than 300 attendees spread over the whole university. The chapter and upcoming activities will be promoted at the beginning of the event. Symposium on optics The third edition of the 2-day symposium on optics will be held in January or February 2015. In the framework of the Year of Light, we aim to attract a broader public, including master students. Therefore we will also advertise the symposium during regular classes besides sending e-mails and distributing flyers and posters. During the symposium, the basics of optics will be presented and several internal and external lecturers will be invited. Additionally, hands-on sessions will be organized. Company visit A company visit will be organized. The company is not chosen yet. Current possibilities are Philips Eindhoven or LAMBDA-X.

4 Financial Information Since our chapter is a combined SPIE and OSA student chapter, all the listed activities were financed by both funding sources. The doctoral school scholarship was specially dedicated for the symposium on optics. Activities Details Spending in Euros General meetings November February September 2014 Total 114.4 131.4 60 305.8 Recruitment Quiz 126.72 Jean-Luc Doumont 204.63 Symposium Promo Catering Lodging guest Poster prizes & gifts speakers Total 41 1056.48 396.07 140.8 1634.35 Bowling 31.65 Company Visit 212.2 SPIEKULographic Promo Prizes Reception & Diner Total 13.6 197 202.96 413.56 Website Domain registration 24.2 Memberships Prizes spiekulographic 94.26 2012-2013 Total 3047.37 Funding SPIE Funding 781.25 Doctoral School Symposium 1233.15 OSA 1169.5 Overview Spending 3047.37 Funding 3183.9 Balance +136.53