ICFO (Institute for Photonics Sciences; Barcelona, Spain) is a research institution that hosts around 400 researchers and staff from more than 60 different nationalities, an amalgamation of languages, beliefs, and cultures. Now, in recognition of ICFO’s efforts and history of research in photonics, SPIE, the International Society of Optics and Photonics (Bellingham, WA) has announced the formalization of the SPIE@ICFO Chair for Diversity in Photonic Sciences with an endowment of US $1 million, including a sum of $500,000 in funding from SPIE.
The Chair is part of the SPIE Endowment Matching program, which is designed to increase international capacity in teaching and research in optics and photonics. Since the program’s establishment in 2019, four institutes in the US have benefited; this is the first time that funding of this nature and magnitude has been awarded to an institution in Europe.
ICFO notes that, since its creation, it has been committed to promoting diversity at the center and in its research programs, and has been active in coordinating and reinforcing inclusion programs for minority groups and those who fall short of equal access to opportunities. Examples include participation in the program offering research stays to senior female researchers from Africa through the “Women for Africa” program, doctoral scholarships for young female scientists through the ENLIGHTEN program cofinanced by the European Commission, and the recently launched European project CARLA, coordinated by ICFO, which will develop professional camps for young researchers, focusing specifically on broadening the diversity of profiles in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
What the SPIE@ICFO Chair will do
The purpose of the Chair is to reinforce the center’s activities for the promotion of diversity in all its forms, starting with its multiple programs to support the education and careers of young female scientists from diverse backgrounds. The ambition for the Chair goes beyond gender diversity and aims to broaden the diversity in photonic sciences in general by supporting motivated students and researchers in the field who would otherwise not have such opportunities. This is especially important in the context of the current global crisis situation, where young people lacking access to opportunities and resources are in greater danger of being left behind.
In one example, the chair will support talented young female scientists through scholarships and stays through the SPIE@ICFO Chair Maria Yzuel Fellowship Award Internships program. It will provide travel grants to students from around the world to attend international schools organized by ICFO through the SPIE@ICFO Chair Travel Fellowship, and will also support the development of scientific research projects at the institute through the SPIE@ICFO Chair Research Fellowship.
SPIE Endowment Matching Program
The SPIE Endowment Matching Program, established in 2019, is a $2.5 million, five-year, educational-funding initiative designed to increase international capacity in the teaching and research of optics and photonics. SPIE supports optics and photonics education and the future of the industry by contributing up to $500,000 per award to college and university programs with optics and photonics degrees, or with other disciplines allied to the SPIE mission. The initial SPIE contribution to the University of Arizona named a new endowed faculty chair, the SPIE Chair in Optical Sciences. Three more agreements announced earlier this year established the SPIE-Glebov Family Optics and Photonics Graduate Scholarship Fund and the Soileau Family-SPIE Optics and Photonics Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, both at the University of Central Florida's (UCF) College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), and the Baur-SPIE Endowed Chair in Optics and Photonics at JILA.
Sources:
https://icfo.eu/newsroom/news/article/4772
https://spie.org/news/spie-and-icfo-announce-1-million-endowed-diversity-focused-chair-at-icfo?SSO=1
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John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.