Dear Supporters of the International Day of Light,
It has been a real pleasure for us to see that the energy and interest for the second International Day of Light in 2020 is developing at a tremendous rate. We are receiving many enquiries and updates from national nodes and other partners, and a very wide range of exciting events are being planned.
This newsletter describes a selection of events covering themes from photonics to photography. We also provide an update on resources that are available - from fascinating historical archives to high resolution images to help you plan your own poster exhibit. In fact, we cannot recommend more strongly that you consider planning an exhibit of some kind. A series of attractive visual images can either accompany any other activities you may be running or can serve as a stand-alone display. We know of some institutes where such posters have become permanent fixtures to be admired by visitors all year round! As always, we are very grateful to all our partners for their hard work in curating these resources.
Please also make sure to register your event on our event calendar as soon as possible, and don’t hesitate to send us more details if you have them, as we’ll be delighted to consider this for our newsletter or website. There are currently events registered in 35 countries around the world and we look forward to seeing the reach and impact of the celebrations in 2020 continue to grow. And as mentioned before, events do not have to be restricted to May 16. As long as the events respect the goals of the International Day of Light, other dates can be a focus for a celebration.
Please regularly check the IDL2020 website for updates and news items and continue to reach out to us via Twitter (@IDLOfficial), Facebook (@DayOfLight2020) and Instagram (@IDL2020) or by email if you have any questions about IDL or you want to share any idea or resources.
We can’t stress it often enough, but for a successful International Day of Light in 2020, your involvement is essential. With proclamation of an International Year of Light, UNESCO have given us the opportunity to celebrate light, and through this annual event, to strengthen our diverse communities. It is up to us to make the most of this opportunity, and so if you haven’t started to think about organizing something for 2020, now is the perfect time!
John Dudley and Joe Niemela
International Day of Light 2020
Steering Committee Chairs
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Duke University Celebrates Light and Lasers in 2020
The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics (FIP) is one of the major research centres at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, USA), and has regularly organized major events in optics and photonics, both to promote the latest research and to host large public events. In 2020, to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the laser, their Annual Meeting will welcome 2018 laser pioneer and Nobel laureate Professor Donna Strickland. Professor Strickland will join a remarkable array of other light-related Nobel laureates who have spoken at FIP annual meetings - including Charles Townes (2006), Ahmed Zewail (2010), William Phillips (2012), Ted Haensch and John Hall (2015), William E. Moerner (2016), Eric Betzig (2017), Steven Chu (2018), Shuji Nakamura (2019).
In addition, the FIP regularly organizes outreach events with its local OSA/SPIE Duke Student Chapters (DOSC) to promote general awareness in photonics and successful engagement with the local community. The 2020 Photonics Field Day event will be held at the FIP on 16 May 2020 as a community gathering to celebrate the International Day of Light. The event aims to explore everyday technologies driven by light-based innovations through photonics demonstrations, interactive games, and tours of Duke's photonics related facilities. The event will be suitable for those of all ages interested in light! The Photonics Field Day is generously supported by OSA, the Optical Society and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.
For information about the Fitzpatrick Institute of Photonics please contact Professor Tuan Vo-Dinh.
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