OSAF Kaleidoscope Program

The OSA Foundation conducted the third educational outreach program in the Milwaukee area, demonstrating the optical properties of reflection, and culminating in the assembly of a kaleidoscope for each student to take home and enjoy. This is the third program sponsored in part by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

During the three day program ten presentations were given to nearly 250 students in grades 4-8!  The feedback from the program was excellent. One 5th grade teacher wrote, "This is an awesome program for kids. It really got them involved into the lesson. Great job!"

New 2011 Youth Education Grant Winners Announced

View the recipients.

Congratulations Maiman Student Paper Competition Winner:

Hugo Benichi, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Congratulations Newport Student Travel Grant Winners:

Kamal Hammani, Université de Bourgogne, France

Friederike Junginger, Universität Konstanz, Germany

Joseph Kerckhoff, Stanford University, USA

Klaus F. Reim, University of Oxford, UK

Volker J. Sorger, University of California at Berkeley, USA

New OSAF video posted on YouTube!

2011 Corning Outstanding Student Paper Competition Results

First Prize
Liang Du, Monash University, Australia

Honorable Mentions
Neil Guerrero Gonzalez, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark 
Jose M.D. Mendinueta, University College London, United Kingdom 

Finalists
Chamil Jayasundara, The University of Melbourne, Australia 
Seung Pil Jung, KAIST,  Republic of Korea
Maria Spyropoulou, National Technical University of Athens, Greece

Established in 2007, this program recognizes innovation, research excellence, and presentation abilities in optical communications. The competition is endowed by a grant from Corning Incorporated. 

Photo & Video Contest Winners Announced!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 OSA Foundation Photo and Video Contest:

Donor's Choice Photo Winners:

First Prize: Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada

Runner Ups: University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and University of Texas at Austin, USA

People's Choice Photo Winners:

First Prize: University of Naples "Federico II," Italy

Runner Up: CREOL, University of Central Florida, USA

View the winning photos.

Donor's Choice Video Winners:

First Prize: University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

Runner Up: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

People's Choice Video Winners:

First Prize: University of Texas at Austin, USA

View the winning videos.

Education in Action: The OSA Foundation Brings Optics to Underserved Communities

Building on the success of our April 2010 workshops on the Galileoscope, the OSAF conducted 26 interactive presentations at six Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, magnet schools. OSA members Kathleen Adelsberger, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Rochester, USA, and Yasaman Soudagar, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, Canada, used materials from the Optics Suitcase to teach over 500 students about light and optics. The demonstrations and hands-on activities included topics such as polarization, diffraction and selective reflection. To ensure the lessons did not end in the classroom, each student was able to take home the experiments to share with family and friends. This program was made possible through our partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.