Australian and New Zealand Optical Society News

Announcement of 2020 ANZOS Award Winners

Yiqing Lu — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 02:15:00 GMT

The ANZOS is pleased to announce the recipients of 2020 ANZOS Awards, as summarised in

https://optics.org.au/2020prizes

Our warmest congratulations to the new awardees!

Further update on AIP Congress 2020 & COVID19

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 22:35:47 GMT

This Congress has been postponed to December 2022

AOS Awards 2020 - closing date is 31 May

Tue, 05 May 2020 04:56:15 GMT

The closing date for the awards of the Australian Optical Society is 31 May 2020, i.e.

AOS W.H. (Beattie) Steel Medal
Geoff Opat Early Career Researcher Prize
AOS Postgraduate Student Prize
AOS John Love Award
AOS Warsash Science Communication Prize

Update on AIP Congress 2020 & COVID19

Tue, 05 May 2020 04:51:16 GMT

It has been announced that the next AIP Congress will now be held December 5-10, 2021 in Adelaide, ie. postponed for 12 months.

Update on CLEO Pac Rim & COVID19

Sun, 03 May 2020 02:17:45 GMT

CLEO-PR 2020 will run as an online Conference on the original dates 3-5 August, 2020; please refer to the website for further information

CLEO Pacific Rim 2020

ICO Prizes announced, Call for Papers for ICO-25

Yiqing Lu — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 01:33:18 GMT

The latest Newsletter of International Commission for Optics is available here, including announcement of ICO prizes 2019 together with the last call for papers for the next ICO General Meeting that will take place in Dresden, Germany from 31st August till 4th September 2020, in coincidence with the meeting of the International Society for Optics Within Life Sciences (OWLS-16).

ANZCOP 2019 Registration and Discount Code for AOS Members

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:13:18 GMT

The early bird registration deadline for ANZCOP 2019 is approaching soon, so please register soon to lock in the early bird discount.

You can register at the following link: https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/anzcop/registration.

AOS Members are entitled to a further discount - please use the discount code that you received via email

We are very much looking forward to meeting with you in Melbourne at the AOS annual conference ANZCOP 2019 !

Call for Papers for ANZCOP 2019

Fri, 10 May 2019 01:37:06 GMT

The Australian and New Zealand Conferences on Optics and Photonics - ANZCOP 2019 brings together four co-located conferences with a central theme of optics and photonics.

It will be held at RMIT Univ. Melbourne, Australia; 8 - 12 December 2019.

Abstract Due Date 5 June 2019

It is our great pleasure to announce that the abstract submission deadline is extended to Wednesday 19th June.

Call for papers

RMIT Distinguished Professor Min Gu won SPIE Dennis Gabor Award

Yiqing Lu — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 23:15:56 GMT

AOS member, and 2011 Beattie Steel medalist, Professor Min Gu from RMIT University has been awarded the 2019 SPIE Dennis Gabor Award in recognition of his pioneering work in nanoscale information optics. Internationally renowned for his expertise in 3D optical imaging theory, his discoveries are helping drive the development of solutions to some of our biggest challenges in renewable energy, information technology and big data storage.Congratulations Min!

https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2019/jan/optics-award-pioneering-physicist

AOS and OSA Renewed Collaboration Agreement

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 09:07:12 GMT

At the recent AIP Congress, OSA President Ian Walmsley and AOS President Simon Fleming signed a renewed collaboration agreement. The two societies to agreed to work together to enhance relations and improve communication in the best interest of their membership and the optics and photonics community. Direct benefits to members include discounts for joint membership and discounts to attend each other's (non co-sponsored) meetings (AOS-OSA).

Image courtesy of Chad Stark, OSA.

2018 AOS Geoff Opat Early Career Researcher Prize awarded to Dr Mohsen Rahmani

Sun, 09 Sep 2018 02:49:08 GMT

The AOS is pleased to announce that we have awarded the 2018 Geoff Opat Early Career Research Prize to Dr Mohsen Rahmani from the Australian National University.

This prize usually presents a challenge to the judging committee because of the quality of the applicants, and this year was especially so. The committee were presented with an exceptional group of talented applicants, all of whom received glowing reports from the nominated referees.

This is the second prize that Dr Rahmani has won in a little over a week, having been recently awarded a Eureka Prize.

Congratulations Mohsen!

Three AOS members were Eureka Prize winners at last night’s awards dinner

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 23:56:40 GMT

Prof. Halina Rubinstein-Dunlop AO, past AOS President, current AOS Councillor and recent winner of the AOS Beattie Steel Medal , was part of the University of Queensland team that won the 2018 UNSW Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research for “Optical Physics in Neuroscience”

Prof. Andre Luiten was part of “The Sapphire Clock Team”, from The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, University of Adelaide and Cryoclock Pty Ltd, that won the 2018 Defence Science and Technology Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia

Dr Mohsen Rahmani, from the Australian National University, won the 2018 Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher.

For more details, including links to videos, see https://australianmuseum.net.au/2018-eureka-prizes-winners

Congratulations Halina, Andre and Mohsen

AOS Councillor Dr Frédérique Vanholsbeeck awarded OSA Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy Recognition

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 01:47:01 GMT

AOS is delighted to advise that Dr Frédérique Vanholsbeeck from the University of Auckland has been awarded OSA Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy Recognition based on her profound influence on the practices of her university and more generally in New Zealand science, and through her work on the AOS Council. She been a vocal promotor of gender parity in selecting invited conference speakers, based on her belief that this is central to giving these conferences, and scientific fields they represent, a positive image to junior female students. Thanks to her involvement and drive, ACOFT 2016 was seen as a shining example amongst the meetings of OSA’s Photonics and Fiber Technology congress in Sydney. Amongst other things, as AOS Councillor she promoted a policy that AOS only sponsors events that have appropriate gender and diversity policies, and she has argued to ensure that each AOS prize has at least one female applicant.

AOS Photo Competition

Sat, 25 Aug 2018 01:57:00 GMT

Help us demonstrate the beauty of optics and photonics

Please submit photographs that capture some aspects of optics and photonics, and are aesthetically pleasing. They can, for instance, be of your research, of optical phenomena, of optical devices.

We want your assistance in generating photographs that we can use to promote Australian and New Zealand optics and photonics in print and online.

We will publish the best photograph on the front cover of AOS News, and whoever submits this will get a year’s membership free.

To enter, you need to send to ausoptsoc@gmail.com:

1)     The photograph (see required specifications below)

2)     Your name and organisation

3)     A brief (one or two sentence) description of the photo

4)     A covering email, that states “I ____full_name____ took this photograph and own the copyright. I hereby provide a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to the Australian Optical Society to reproduce this photograph in print, online or other format.”

The photos will be judged by a panel including three AOS Councillors, the Editor of the AOS News and the AOS Webmaster.

The Small Print The competition will continue on a quarterly basis with judging for each issue of AOS News. AOS reserves the right to carry forward good entries from one quarter to the next, and in any particular quarter to award multiple winners or to award no winner. The competition will initially run until end of 2019. AOS may extend this date or terminate earlier, advising by email, through AOS News, or other reasonable communication.

Photo Specifications JPG, PNG or TIF, at least 300 dpi, 3600x2400 pixels (otherwise ask first.)

Queries to ausoptsoc@gmail.com

2018 AOS W. H. (Beattie) Steel Medal awarded to Prof Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 10:49:45 GMT

The 2018 AOS W. H. (Beattie) Steel Medal is awarded to Prof Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop for her contributions to diverse fields of optics, including laser physics, linear and nonlinear high-resolution spectroscopy, laser micromanipulation, atom cooling and trapping and nano-optics. She is one of the originators of laser-enhanced ionisation spectroscopy and is a pioneer of laser micromanipulation and transfer of angular momentum of light and all optical drive micromechanics. Halina initiated the experimental programs in laser micromanipulation and atom optics at the University of Queensland. She has served the Australian and New Zealand optical community as President of the Australian Optical Society and as a member of the Council for many years, as well as serving on many conference committees. She has been a mentor and role model for many, as the first woman Professor of Physics in Australia.

AOS Members Eureka Prize Finalists

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 10:47:52 GMT

The Eureka Prize finalists include at least two AOS members, one an AOS Councillor. Good luck Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Mohsen Rahmani (and any other members I failed to spot).

Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop recipient of the Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 06:35:58 GMT

Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop has been recognised in the Queen's Birthday 2018 honours list. She is a recipient of the Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for distinguished service to laser physics and nano-optics as a researcher, mentor and academic, to the promotion of educational programs, and to women in science. Halina has been an AOS Councillor since 1994 and was AOS President 1998-2000. link to Details

STEM leaders forge path to stronger Australian science and technology

Thu, 03 May 2018 01:13:55 GMT

STEM leaders forge path to stronger Australian science and technology

Presidents, CEOs and other leaders of Australia’s most prominent science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) organisations gathered in Canberra today (1 May) to highlight the important role that science and technology will play in Australia’s future.

They released the following statement:

Collectively representing more than 70,000 Australian scientists and technologists through our membership and staff, we call for science to be a priority platform for the major parties’ campaigns in the next federal election.

Science and technology will shape our future, but without adequate support and high profile, Australian science, innovation and discovery will fall by the wayside.

There are four areas of focus we call on decision-makers and candidates to address when Australians are called to vote at the next election:

A whole-of-government plan for science and technology
A strategy to equip the future Australian workforce with STEM skills
Strong investment in both basic and applied research
Creating policy informed by the best available evidence

Specific issues to be addressed include:

A thorough and thoughtful response to the R&D Tax Incentive review, that achieves a system that boosts public-private collaboration and accentuates Australia’s scientific and technological strengths
A clear and long-term plan to support Australia’s research infrastructure, informed by the National Research Infrastructure Roadmap
A bold and ambitious national target for scientific and technological research investment, which puts Australia in a position to lead the world in STEM.
Action to remove barriers (such as caps and limits) that stand in the way of Australians participating and excelling in STEM education

A government that uses science to inform and underpin its decisions will lead Australia to a brighter future.

A government that directly invests in discovery-led, basic research will unlock the solutions of the future.

A government that fosters and rewards innovation and entrepreneurship will secure Australia’s economic success.

A government that leads from the front, inspiring the private sector to invest in science and technology, will help Australia achieve a stable and prosperous future.

We, the nation’s science and technology leaders, will work hard to ensure that the health, wealth and wellbeing of all Australians are secured for many generations to come.

Working in the solutions sector, the thousands of STEM professionals in Australia will work to tackle the great challenges facing the world, and solve them with science.

In striving towards this bold vision, we ask for the support of Australians, Australian governments and candidates in future federal elections.

The Science & Technology Australia membership supports this statement, including the following organisations:

Student Prizes at ANZCOP 2017

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 23:28:08 GMT

The AOS congratulates the following students for excellent papers and presentations at the very successful, AOS cosponsored, ANZCOP conference last week in Queenstown, NZ. These papers resulted in the award of the following prizes.

James Spollard, Australian National University PhD student, won the SPIE prize. This prize is a consequence of our MoU with SPIE and includes $1500 towards attending an SPIE conference. The photo shows Jim Oschmann, Vice-President of SPIE awarding the prize.

Sara Lau, University of Queensland PhD student, won the OSA prize for best oral presentation. This cash prize is a consequence of our MoU with the OSA. The photo shows Ursula Gibson, Vice-President of OSA awarding the prize.

Calida Tang, University of Sydney senior undergraduate student, won the Wanda Henry prize. This cash prize is awarded each year at ACOFT (one of the constituent events of ANZCOP). The photo shows Simon Fleming, President of AOS awarding the prize.

The Dodd-Walls Centre, ANZCOP cosponsor, also provided several student poster prizes.

AOS and SPIE renewed Memorandum of Understanding

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 07:55:24 GMT

AOS and SPIE have renewed our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for another three years. The agreement was signed on 28th October by Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Glenn Boreman. The purpose is to promote optics and photonics research and education and serve members of the international optical science and engineering community. The terms of the MoU include information exchange, joint promotion of events and activities, leadership exchange visits, and an SPIE student prize at our annual conference.

2017 AOS Awards winners

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 08:51:35 GMT

The AOS is delighted to announce the winners of several of the AOS Prizes for this year.

The AOS Geoff Opat Early Career Researcher Prize has been awarded to Dr Sergey Kruk from ANU.

Both the AOS Postgraduate Student Prize and the AOS/Warsash Science Communication Prize in Optics have been awarded to Ms Litty Thekkekara from RMIT University

Well done Sergey and Litty!

Look out for articles in forthcoming issues of AOS News from the winners. Note that Sergey will give an Invited Talk at ANZCOP in Queenstown in December on his prize-winning work. The 2016 winner, Andrea Blanco Redondo, will also give her Geoff Opat talk at ANZCOP.

The AOS Prize Committee is still deliberating regarding the Beattie Steele Prize and a further announcement should be forthcoming.

Six renowned Australian scientists elected as new OSA Fellows

Fri, 11 Aug 2017 01:42:22 GMT

Congratulations to our new Fellows of The Optical Society, who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics. Well-deserved honour!

Prof John Canning (USyd)
Dr Adrian Carter (Nufern)
Prof Deb Kane (Macquarie)
Prof Malin Premaratne (Monash)
Prof Ann Roberts (UMelb)
Prof Howard Wiseman (Griffith)

The official announcement of the full list can be find here.

IUPAP Young Scientist Prizes adwarded to AOS members

Fri, 11 Aug 2017 01:18:43 GMT

Congratulations to A/Prof Igor Aharonovich (UTS) and Dr Mohsen Rahmani (ANU) for winning The Young Scientist Award of the Year 2017 for the Commission on Laser Physics and Photonics (C17), International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)!

Igor was awarded for the Applied Aspects and Mohsen for the Fundamental Aspects, respectively. Find more from the Official Announcement.

Changes to AOS Council

Tue, 06 Dec 2016 10:20:36 GMT

At the Annual General Meeting of the AOS on 5th December 2016 two Councillors retired, and two new Councillors were elected.

We say goodbye to Anne Roberts, who was the last Past President, and Maryanne Large, and thank them for the very valuable contributions to the AOS.

We welcome Daniel Gomez, from RMIT, and Frederique Vanholsbeeck, from Auckland.

Stephen Collins moves to Past President, Simon Fleming to President, and John Harvey was elected to Vice President.

For more detail see Council.

Equity and Diversity Policy

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMT

At an e-meeting in October 2016 the Council has discussed and agreed upon a Policy on Equity and Diversity, which begins by noting “The Australian Optical Society (AOS) is committed to the principles of equity and diversity. These principles are integral to our desire to promote excellence and fairness, and to encourage interest in optics across the community.” and stating “conferences and events associated with the AOS must also be run according to these principles.”. Similar policies have been adopted by other professional societies. Further details can be found at Equity and Diversity Policy

Vale Professor John Love

Sun, 19 Jun 2016 11:00:00 GMT

It is with great sadness that we notify you of John Love’s passing today at 6:45am on 19 June 2016. He was surrounded by loving friends in Canberra hospital on his last day.

Born in England 2^nd October 1942, John Love was a Life Member of the Australian Optical Society and winner of the prestigious Beattie Steel medal. His career in optics and photonics began when he arrived in Australia in 1973. Over the following forty plus years he made a major impact on the field. He is widely known for the definitive textbook, Optical Waveguide Theory, with 5500 citations and translated into Russian and Chinese. John was an enthusiastic champion of many important research and educational initiatives in Australia, including being a stalwart of the ACOFT conference, the world’s second longest running photonics conference. He also leaves a much more direct and personal impact on the very many students and young academics he mentored, who will remember him with love and respect, especially for how generous he was with his time and knowledge.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised, although anticipated to be in approx. a week’s time. For notification of details please contact either Susan (susan.dart@bigpond.com) or Lin (lin.thorncraft@bigpond.com).

(Photo by kind permission of the Australian National University)

Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Ben Eggleton, Fellows of the AAS

Mon, 23 May 2016 01:00:00 GMT

The AOS is delighted that two of our Councillors, Professors Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Benjamin Eggleton, have been made Fellows of the AAS.

https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/new-fellows/fellows-elected-2016