The Photonics Society of St Petersburg University joins the international scientific Optical Society (OSA)
St Petersburg University has become part of The Optical Society (OSA). University lecturers and students can now participate in and organise their own major professional conferences. They can also invite leading experts in optics and photonics to the University.
The Optical Society was founded in 1916. For more than a hundred years, it has been uniting scientists, engineers, educators, students and business leaders worldwide. The mission of the organisation is to promote the generation, application and archiving of knowledge in optics and photonics and to disseminate this knowledge worldwide. At present, OSA has about 275 student chapters and sections in more than 50 countries. The Photonics Society of St Petersburg University has recently been officially registered in it.
Being a member of professional international societies provides University lecturers and students with a wide range of opportunities. For example, University undergraduate and postgraduate students have received the right to send one representative from their department to the annual Student Leadership Conference FiO/LS (OSA) and SPIE Photonics West/Europe /Asia (SPIE) conferences. All costs are covered, and they do not take part in a competitive selection. They can also attend or hold congresses of the International OSA Network of Students. Both organisations enable their members to receive grants to support the activities of their chapters and sections, as well as to hold their own schools and conferences. After a competitive selection, members of the St Petersburg University Photonics Society can take part as volunteers at SPIE Photonics West/Europe/Asia conferences. Additionally, the University has the opportunity to invite annually one lecturer from SPIE and one from OSA from lists with more than 300 participants.
The international organisations and OSA provide their chapters and sections with opportunities. To take advantage of them, it is necessary to apply for membership in the relevant organisation and inform the coordinators about it.
Similarly, more than a hundred chapters and sections of both organisations around the world can invite the academic staff of St Petersburg University. To participate in the programme, it is necessary to register on the OSA or SPIE portals as a participant and present one or more lectures that might interest the receiving party, with a short annotation.
SPIE is currently accepting applications for the 2021 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship from undergraduate and postgraduate students in lithography and related fields. The competition is open until 9 October. Additionally, this year the Society awards education scholarships in the amount of $298,000 to 78 outstanding students. They must be members of SPIE; and it will depend on their potential contribution to optics and photonics or related disciplines. Check the start for filing applications here.
SPIE annually provides several scholarship programmes to its student participants. This year, Aleksei Smirnov, a chemistry student at St Petersburg University, was awarded the Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship 2020.
The Photonics Society of St Petersburg University unites undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University, whose research activities and interests are related to spectroscopy, lasers, optics and photonics. It serves as a meeting point to exchange interests, promote science, hold events and participate in them. Any interested University student can enter, participate in the life of the society and head it.
During the lockdown, the Photonics Society has not stopped its activities: a creative photo contest was organised at the University to celebrate the International Day of Light. Photographs related to light in everyday life, as well as scientific photographs, were sent not only by undergraduate and postgraduate students, but also by pupils of the Academic Gymnasium named after D.K. Faddeev at St Petersburg University. Nearly 200 University students took part in the voting for the selection of the best work. Denis Kravtsov, a chemistry student at the University, won first place in the Abstract Photo nomination; and Andrei Kalinichev, a doctoral student, won the Scientific Photo nomination.
In the autumn of 2019, the Photonics Society of St Petersburg University was accepted as a student chapter of the International Society for Optics and Photonics SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers).