Dear students, Do you know 2015 is the International Year of Light ? Would you like to learn about the OSA and SPIE Purdue Student Chapter ? We are a joint chapter of OSA (Optical Society of America) and SPIE(The International Society of Optics and Photonics) with 40+ student members. Our aim is to serve all Purdue students who are interested in or working in the optical community, and promote the educational awareness of optical science to the general public. Here you can learn the latest progress of innovative optical/photonic technology. We also have tremendous exciting events and professional activities throughout the year. Please come to our 2015 Spring Callout next Thursday (02/05) at 5pm in MSEE 239. We also have Prof. Peter Bermel present an interesting lecture on "Solving the mysteries of surprising optical phenomena found in nature”. Below is more information about Prof. Bermel’s talk. ****************************************************************************************** Title: Solving the mysteries of surprising optical phenomena found in nature Abstract: A broad range of optical phenomena in nature have created long-standing mysteries. For example, what gives butterflies and birds their rich colors? And how can sightings of some unusual natural phenomena like mirages or ball lightning be explained? The process of solving these mysteries has interacted synergistically with the modern fields of photonics, plasmonics, and metamaterials. A few exciting applications of this work will also be briefly discussed. Brief Bio: Dr. Peter BERMEL is an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University<https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE>. His research focuses on improving the performance of photovoltaic, thermophotovoltaic, and nonlinear systems using the principles of nanophotonics. Key enabling techniques for his work include electromagnetic and electronic theory, modeling, simulation, fabrication, and characterization. Dr. Bermel is widely-published in both scientific peer-reviewed journals<http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4Z-aRA0AAAAJ&hl=en> and publications geared towards the general public<http://web.ics.purdue.edu/%7Epbermel/publicity.html>. His work includes the following topics: * Understanding and optimizing the detailed mechanisms of light trapping in thin-film photovoltaics * Fabricating and characterizing 3D inverse opal photonic crystals made from silicon for photovoltaics, and comparing to theoretical predictions * Explaining key physical effects influencing selective thermal emitters in order to achieve high performance thermophotovoltaic systems ****************************************************************************************** Food and beverages will be provided. You can find more details in the attached flyer. We are looking forward to seeing you there. Yours sincerely, Andy Huang Purdue OSA Student Chapter [cid:48249232-6F46-4C47-A32D-A2FC5D6626BF@itap.purdue.edu] ------------------------------ Zun(Andy) Huang Graduate Research Assistant, PhD student of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue Univ. President, Optical Society of America Purdue Chapter, Birck Nanotechnology Center, 1205 West State Street, W. Lafayette, IN 47907 (765)494-0215 zun@purdue.edu<mailto:zun@purdue.edu>