It is Wednesday so this must be, hmmm, Galway… Fáilte!
Trieste to Paris (massive Charles DeGaulle Airport) on to Dublin (slightly smaller), and finally Galway where we had no trouble finding Kari Apter (OSA Staff) in the airport. OSA Vice President Chris Dainty and the OSA Galway Student Chapter hosted my visit to the National University of Ireland for meetings with photonics students, faculty, and government officials. My hosts in Ireland put together a very informative program including breakfast with the University President and his staff, research overviews, lab tours, presentations by scientists working at local photonics companies, and summaries of Irish government efforts designed to foster innovation specifically in optics and photonics programs at Irish universities.
Kari Apter and Tom Baer
The technical overviews presented by several photonics companies located near Galway illustrated a broad range of applications: intraocular lens implants, single photon solid-state detector arrays, and ultra-miniature, self-focusing cameras (the size of a pin head) for the next generation of mobile phone cameras.
OSA Student Chapters from Cork, Dublin and Galway gathered for their first ever joint meeting. Kind of a mini-IONS meeting held for the first time on the Emerald Isle. I don’t think this will be their last joint meeting, and I look forward to seeing some of my Irish comrades at the IONS meeting in Barcelona.
The next morning Kari and I met with a representative from the European Union (EU) to discuss Photonics 21, which funds photonics research throughout the EU. We discussed how OSA could best support European efforts to explore new areas of photonics research including solar energy, solid-state lighting, and bio-photonics.
After two very productive days filled with meetings Bobbi, Kari and I were treated to Irish hospitality and congeniality courtesy of my huge tribe of Irish cousins who happen to be located in the Galway area. And I found out once more that Irish hospitality rivals that of any nation on Earth.
Irish Cousins and Hospitality!
Kari Apter and Tom Baer
