Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Student and Early Career Speed Mentoring Extravaganza!
Location: Moscone Center, Community Corner, (Level 2 West)

Join us for this casual and fun speed mentoring event, where we will have a diverse array of table topics you can join to discuss a variety of career path questions. A topic expert and mentor will guide the conversation at each table. Ice-breaker questions will be provided as well so you do not have to worry about what to ask. We suggest participants switch tables throughout the event so you can enjoy multiple topics. All are welcome, but students and early career attendees may find this event especially helpful.

Table topics and Mentors
• Career paths in academia: Jessica Wade, Ph.D., Research Fellow at Imperial College, and Lakshmi Raju, Ph.D., Director of ECE Student Engagement and Well-Being at Georgia Tech
• Career paths in industry: Marc Himel, Ph.D., Senior Director Engineering Integrated Solutions Business, MKS Instruments Photonics Solutions Division, and Matthew Posner, Ph.D., Workforce & Photonics Education Director at Optonique
• Career paths in government: Matthew Jepsen, M.S., Government Affairs Manager at SPIE
• Career transitions: Andrea Armani, Ph.D., Professor of Engineering | Sr. Director of Engineering and Physical Science at Ellison Institute of Technology
• Work + life balance: Latifah Maasarani, M.S., Solutions Engineer at Edmund Optics
• Startup + entrepreneurship: Claude Aguergaray, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the Photon Factory | Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland

Intended Audience
This event is open to all technical attendees. No advance registration is required. Students and those in their early career may find this event especially valuable.