The Duke Optical Student Chapter (DOSC) is a Duke Student organization interested in research in optics and photonics. They are officially affiliated as a student chapter with SPIE and OPTICA (formerly OSA), two professional societies dedicated to optics and photonics. Their affiliation with these societies along with the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics at Duke provides them with funding and resources that allows them to engage in many activities related to the exploration and promotion of optical sciences. Here are some of the things that they do:
- Professional networking events on campus and at conferences
- Outreach programs to local schools
- Support optics-related extracurricular projects
- Interact with visiting professors in small groups
- Assist with FIP breakfast poster sessions
- To see more about these opportunities, go to DOSC Seminar presentation (2023).
2024-25 DOSC Officers:
President: Deniz Acil
Deniz is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Prof. Maiken Mikkelsen’s lab, working on developing next generation nanophotonics devices for quantum optics and fluorescent immunoassays. He also serves as the treasurer for ECE Advocacy for Student Engagement (EASE), an executive committee member for Pratt PhD Plus program, and ECE representative for Engineering Graduate Student Council. https://scholars.duke.edu/person/deniz.acil
Vice President: Morgan McCloud
Morgan is a second-year Ph.D. student studying in the Biophotonics Lab. Her research focuses on implementing ocular imaging modalities on autonomous robotic arms. She hopes her work will expand the ability to image people that are not able to be imaged using traditional techniques. She is a Sloan Scholar and also serves as the Vice President of the Duke Gaming club.
Treasurer: Yuruo Zheng
Yuruo is a second-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Natalia Litchinitser’s lab. Her current research focuses on design and fabrication of optical metasurfaces, with the goal of broadening the application of optical metasurfaces across various fields.
Secretary: Trey Highland
Trey Highland is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in Prof. Adam Wax’s BIOS lab. His research focuses on the use of quantitative phase imaging to advance understanding of cell mechanics. He graduated from Duke with an M.S. in BME (2022) and the University of Alabama - Birmingham with a B.S. of BME (2021). Outside the lab Trey enjoys music, film, and his two cats - Pocket and Maymay. https://scholars.duke.edu/person/robert.highland
Outreach Coordinator: Marcia Cunha dos Santos
Marcia is a second-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Ramanujam’s lab for Global Women’s Health Technologies. Her research focuses on understanding and screening the breast cancer microenvironment. She also serves as vice-president of Social Impact at the Brazil Conference at Harvard & MIT.
Events Coordinator: Sarah Mekha
Sarah is a second-year BME PhD student in Dr. Ramanujam’s lab for Global Women’s Health Technologies. She is working on a low-cost optical molecular imaging platform for the metabolism of tumor and immune cells. She is also the goalkeeper for the Duke Women’s Club Soccer team.
2023-24 DOSC Officers:
President: Hillel Price
Hillel is a 3rd year PhD student in Adam Wax’s BIOS lab, working on developing biomedical optics systems for detecting biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in the retina. Hillel previously served as the Events Coordinator and First Year Representative for DOSC.
https://scholars.duke.edu/person/hillel.price
Vice President: Eunso Shin
Eunso is a 3rd year PhD student in Maiken Mikkelsen’s Nanophotonic lab. Her current research is developing a new generation of an ultrathin integrated photodetector with pyroelectric material.
Secretary: Melissa Wu
Melissa is a 2nd year PhD student in Roarke Horstmeyer’s Computational Optics lab, working on diffuse optical technologies to measure the brain. Melissa was previously the first-year representative for DOSC.
Treasurer: Clare Cook
Clare is a 3rd year student in the Computational Optics Lab, under Dr. Roarke Horstmeyer. Her research is on single-snapshot 3D and volumetric imaging techniques, particularly Fourier Light Field Microscopy.
Outreach Coordinator: Julia Foust
Julia is a 3rd year PhD student in Dr. Joe Izatt’s Biophotonics Group. Her current research project investigates the light collection efficiency of and optimal focusing for long-range Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).
Events Coordinator: George Tian Funkenbusch
George is a 2nd year PhD student in Adam Wax’s BIOS lab. His current project involves hyperspectral phase imaging of erythrocytes for red blood cell disease diagnosis.
First Year Representatives: Sarah Mehka (BME) and Rahul Banerjee (ECE)
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