Society for Optics and Photonics Student Chapter undergoes revitalization
July 20, 2023 - Trinity Moody
The University of New Mexico International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Student Chapter recently underwent a revitalization under its president, Mega Frost. Since then, the club has been working hard to develop outreach programs, welcome speakers from industry and research institutions, and promote the professional and academic development of its student members.
This will be the program's first reboot in a few years, as COVID delayed the process a bit. In March 2023, SPIE elected its board, and many felt the need to restart the chapter after it had started gathering interest in December. Frost was willing to head the club's revitalization when asked, and the UNM Optical Sciences and Engineering (OSE) department was supportive of the decision to reboot the club.
Frost's incentive is to make science accessible and engaging to those with little or no experience in the fields SPIE offers. Science was never something Frost considered at a young age. She was raised in a military family, went to a public school in Southern California with a high Latino population and a low math and literacy rate, and most people had the impression that she wouldn't go to college, "Especially not into STEM fields," she laughed.
Read more in the UNM Newsroom
