SPIE celebrates 20 years of its Women in Optics notebook

Since 2005, SPIE has showcased more than 500 researchers, academics, engineers, and industry leaders through its SPIE Women in Optics planner and notebook. In this annual publication, an extensive range of professional women’s career arcs and personal stories have shone a focused and inspiring light on the myriad number of optics and photonics opportunities as well as raising the visibility of the featured individuals. Since its inception and its highlighting of female scientists who are making a difference through their work and other contributions to the fields of science, optics, and engineering, the SPIE Women in Optics notebook has proved to be valuable resource for young women and other underrepresented individuals interested in entering STEM-related fields.

Now, on the occasion of the publication’s 20^th anniversary, SPIE will celebrate the two-decade milestone with a one-day event held on 26 January during Photonics West. The gathering will feature panels and presentations from optics and photonics luminaries who have all been showcased in the notebook, from Nu Quantum’s Simone Eizagirre Barker and Johns Hopkins University’s Muyinatu Bell, to Castor Optics’ Caroline Boudoux and Monroe Community College’s Alexis Vogt.

“We've had 20 years of celebrating women in optics, and diversity in optics more broadly across SPIE,” notes Jess Wade, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and lecturer in functional materials at Imperial College London, chair of the SPIE Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, and organizer of the event. “We’ve recently re-visited the way we celebrate them, through recognizing people's science, thinking about how we can transform research culture, and thinking what we can do to better support students from historically underrepresented groups. Through the online activity during the pandemic, through the fantastic conference offerings that SPIE has come up with — like the lunch-and-learn sessions and our new and extended networking opportunities — we've got some fantastic leaders with great visions that we really want to share with the wider optics and photonics and STEM community. I think this is just a beautiful opportunity to bring all of those people together to say thank you for everything that you've done and to learn from their professional insights.”

It's also an opportunity, she adds, to ask: What do we do next to really shift the needle on the representation of women in optics?

This particular event should offer some answers: Its participants are steeped in both technological success stories as well as their impactful work in mentorship and outreach; while all of them represent instrumental pioneering aspects of their respective fields, they are also known for their support of other women and their work in proactively incorporating diversity and inclusivity into the optics and photonics ecosystem.

Speaker topics and panels will cover a diverse slate of discussion topics including Career Path from Bench to the C-Suite, Imposter Phenomenon and Resilience, Creating Inclusive Work Environments, Too Few Women Authors, and Establishing a Personal Brand. It's a robust range of career-related advice, from how to build a company and hire people, to the challenges and rewards of navigating a STEM-focused ecosystem, whether that might be in academia, government, or industry.

“These topics all came from discussions with our community’s scientists and suggestions we'd have from audience members during conference sessions,” Wade points out. “So it's a program built by the community and built by the speakers, with a strong representation across academia, industry, and policy. It's fantastic to see this kind of energy from people, from lecturers and early-career professionals up through to senior-ranking policymakers and civil servants.”

This focused event, she affirms, will offer something for everyone: “It’s a celebration of all of the fantastic people who work in this great community, and we want everyone to come to learn from them and to be part of it. It's open to everyone, and we’d love to welcome early-career people so that they can learn from their peers as well as from these living legends.”

"The SPIE Women in Optics notebook has spotlighted many outstanding women in optics and photonics, showcasing their achievements and contributions while also providing invaluable role models for future generations," says Ursula Keller, ETH Zurich professor of physics, who was featured in the 2011 edition. "As we celebrate two decades of recognizing these inspiring women and welcoming early-career professionals, I look forward to a day of rich discussions and honoring the ongoing impact of women in science.”

“I discovered the Women in Optics planner in 2010 at my first SPIE meeting in San Francisco, and I loved it instantly,” says Sona Hosseini, a research and instrument scientist in the Planetary Science Section of the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was included in the 2017 version. “The size and design were ideal for my busy schedule, keeping all my tasks and events organized, and even having space for jotting down ideas and reflections on the side. I’d look forward to reading about successful women scientists featured in it, imagining the challenges they must have faced and the persistence they needed to break through. I’d remind myself of the untold efforts behind their achievements, the grit it took to accomplish that one remarkable thing that earned them a spot on these pages. Their journeys inspired me to empower my own: Their brilliance and resilience fueled my ambitions and reminded me that there’s no limit to what I could achieve. When I meet them at SPIE events, I always ask what they thought about their profile, and almost always get to hear more untold stories!”

The full-day program in January should provide plenty of opportunities for even more stories, a great reason to hold it during the week of Photonics West. “This is probably the biggest meeting of optics and photonics specialists in the world,” notes Wade. “Holding this celebration at the beginning of the year — and at the beginning of the International Year of Quantum, no less — heralds the fact that there are lots of things about the coming year that are exciting and full of promise. Bringing together a sensational team of women, it's just too good an opportunity to miss. Yes, 20 years of the planner is obviously great, but, beyond that, we've actually got so much expertise and enthusiasm and energy! I say, let's unite it and see what we can accomplish together.”

"Over the past two decades, our Women in Optics planner and notebook has been a wonderful way to highlight many of the amazing women in our field," says SPIE Chief Inclusion Officer and original creator of the publication Allison Romanyshyn. "Now we want to bring some of these pioneering women together to celebrate the continuing advancement of women in optics and photonics. We hope to inspire the next generation of leaders with an engaging and exciting day full of insights and dynamic interaction, a day built to enhance their future in this ever-evolving field."

Registration for the Women in Optics Celebration is separate from Photonics West and is available via the event website.