Scitable by nature education

What is Scitable: "Scitable is a free science library and personal learning tool brought to you by Nature Publishing Group" according to the NPG. It is on the one hand a communication platform for scientists and on the other hand an education resource. Currently, the research topics are concentrated on biology. However, there are two large and extensive topics about

English Communication for Scientist

and

Guide to Life Science Career

which are relevant for all scientists. It is definitely good invested time to have a closer look on these two topics if you are writing a paper or thinking about staying in science. Especially to recommend is the "Writing Scientific Papers" and "Effective Writing" page. But also the "Personality Assessment" is interesting to read, doesnt matter if you plan to stay or not in science.

The homepage is very well and serious done. It is a pleasure to read it and one can really say that one has learned something :) .

ps: It is nice that they are using some PhD Comics strips ;).

Jobs at ICFO, Spain (Barcelona)

Originally, I planned to write about the famous ICFO which stands for "Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques" or in english: the Institute of Photonics Science; but when I visited the homepage, I found a big announcement of seeking researchers. Therefore, now a post about both issues.

(from ICFO page)

ICFO is located in Barcelona (Spain) and was founded 2002. Currently it has around 250 staff members, around 20 research groups and 50 different laboratories. In 2014, the expansion phase should be finished with around 300 staff members and occupying 9000 square meter. The main research lines are biophotonics, nonlinear optics, quantum optics and nano optics. The probably most well known professor is Niek van Hulst, working in the area of nanophotonics (nanoantennas, single molecule ultrafast photonics).

As you already can see from the picture, ICFO is searching new members in all areas and all positions. An overview of positions you can find on the job page (date: 29th July 2011). ICFO has a very good infrastructure and allows you top research.

further pages:
wikipedia-ICFO

El laser, la luz de nuestro tiempo

For the 50th anniversaire of the laser in 2010, the OSA student chapter of Salamanca, together with the optics group in Salamanca, has written a book that communicates clearly the concepts and applications of lasers to the general public.

(picture from the OPN book rewiew)

A review by the OPN (Optics and Photonics News, published by OSA) can be found here. As the title of the book already suggests, it is written in spanish. An english version is currently discussed. The book is for free (you have read correctly) but only limited copies exist. If you are interested in one, please contact osal (at) usal.es

One of the copies is already in my hands and I can tell you that even after 5 years working in many optic areas, the book still had some nice and interesting suprises for me :). Have fun!

HyperPhysics - Optics

No new special physics but an interesting homepage of the Georgia State University.

HyperPhysics

HyperPhysics explains concept in physics and was originally built for high school physics teachers. Nevertheless it is useful for students or independent learners as well. The site design could need an update. However, you should not be scared because of that. The site is maintained and still under continuous development by Carl Rod Nave (I guess that he is also the founder) and has over 3 million users per year.

The "light and vision", respectively optic, part presents a interesting and good overview about the general concepts in optics.

Light and Vision

The concepts are well explained and contain often some examples. For the ones who want to repeat or getting quickly an overview about general optic concepts, this site is ideal.

If you search for detailed nonlinear optic or laser physcis/ technology, you should visit this post: Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology

Have fun!

Photonics Clusters

On the SPIE (International Society for Optical Engineering) homepage I found an interesting page which lists a lot of photonics cluster all over the world.

Photonics Clusters

In total they listed over 30 photonics clusters with over 700 member organizations. As photonics cluster SPIE refers as

"Optics and photonics clusters are concentrations of optics-related firms and universities that maintain strong research and workforce ties, create quality jobs, share common economic needs, and work with government and stakeholders to strengthen the industry."

(from SPIE Photonics Cluster page)

Most of the clusters are located to a region of the country. Especially a lot of clusters exist in germany. Most of the cluster homepages are well made (even, some links on the SPIE page are not working anymore). Spend some time to visit the cluster page in your region. Even, the clusters are not directly relevant for university research groups, they still have some interesting information for you (and if it is only the member and job list ;) ).

some clusters:
Spanish cluster (Southern European Cluster in Photonics and Optics (SECPhO) )
BayernPhotonics (Germany)
Optics Valley France
Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, Inc. (USA)

have fun!

Art+Science.

This blog is mainly for lasers and things related to research but in this entry i would like to comment
some other uses of light and lasers.

Watching light itself is appealing and it is part of the art. In the FastLight festival in the framework of the
150 years of MIT you can see a great example of mixture between science, technology and art.

This is the link --> http://arts.mit.edu/fast/fast-light/

Enjoy with the light.

50 and 1 years of laser

Very nice talk at MIT celebrating the
50 years of the laser.

The museum of sciences of MIT hosted this nice talk
Check it out !

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/839