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 ;).

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!

Optics & Photonics Focus

It is time to know this page, in case you have overlooked it like me.

Optics & Photonics Focus

It is a magazine (sponsored by EPS and OSA) presenting recent interesting and important developments in the fields of optics and photonics. The topic selection over the last years is well done and you will find many interesting articles respecively reviews. They have a nice length to read and are not too specific written, accessible for a wide range of readers. Have a look at the archive

OPFocus Archive

All articles are online available. Take time for an overview, and perhaps you even have a suggestion for them what to present next!

Companies & Photonics

If I ask you to write down how many companies you know working in the optic area, how many would it be? I think everyone knows Thorlabs and Newport, where most of us buy our optical components. And then... some other general well-known companies, some special companies working on your research topic, and then... i guess you know that there are much more companies.

There are several benefits for your research why to search once for other companies as to stay always at the same one:

• finding same product but cheaper (e.g. crystals, mechanical components, daily used things)
• better quality or performance (measurement devices)
• better support/ shorter delivering time (that is an important aspect)
• new products/ ideas for your research
  

But how to find them? A simple search with google or another search engine will often lead you to a useable result. Asking your working colleagues is good invested time too. Advertisement of new released products you can find in the different optic magazines (like Photonics Spectra and many others) or in the newsletters of the companies (wanted or unwanted you receive them ;) ). But in this post i want to draw your attention to something what many people know but also many doesnt. There are guides of companies where you can browse by subject to find different companies concerning your search. I want to introduce the one of Photonics Spectra:

Photonics Buyer´s Guide

You can browse by product/ service/ company name and region. The guide contains profiles and contact information for more than 4000 manufacturers and suppliers of photonics products and services worldwide. The page is clearly laid out and information are updated. Try it!

One more motivation why to know such a guide... if you are searching a job in the optics industry, you can find with the guide easily all the companies in your country ;).

Sunset in the Lab

Sunset in the lab, that´s how we named the first picture and I think you guess why ;).


We are focusing with a 1030nm beam in a YVO4 crystal generating "white light" which contains only near-infrared wavelengths from 600nm to around 1100nm. The blue light in the crystal originates from third harmonic generation.

The next picture shows stronger white light generation from 450nm to around 1400nm in a YAG crystal



Both pictures were taken in our lab by Thorsten Naeser and can be soon seen at the attoworld gallery.

If you want to know more about white light generation, then you should read following article: Femtosecond continuum generation in bulk laser host materials with sub-μJ pump pulses (journal access necessary).

Have fun!

Photonics in Spain: Open for Business

The latest (june/july 2010) euro photonics issue (included in photonics spectra) presents an article about the photonics in Spain:

Photonics in Spain: Open for Business (free access)

A brief and very general overview of the situation of photonics development and research is given. ICFO, SECPhO and CLPU are mentioned. The article is nice to read and I guess especially interesting for our Spanish readers :) . Let´s hope future will show what the article says, namely: “Outlook is good”. Enjoy!

PS: the articles in the current photonics spectra issue are really interesting. Don’t forget, you can subscribe for free!

Links:
ICFO - Institute of Photonic Science
CLPU- Center for Ultrashort Pulsed Lasers
SECPhO- Southern European Cluster in Photonics and Optics

THz Science & Technology Network

If you are interested in terahertz research, or you want to get an overview then this Thz Science and Technology Network may be worth to consider:

THz Science & Technology Network

The page is maintained and regulary updated. I like the news and furthermore, they have their own virtual (monthly published) virtual journal. Not bad is the conference page as well as the career page too. A real nice feature is the buyer´s guide. It will provide a good starting point if you search commerical THz technology (depending of what you are searching this can be real challenge!). You can get also a member of the THz network. The basic membership is free. However, all pages are free accessible and actually it is nowhere written, what for additional features you receive if you get a member. If you are a member (i am not), please write a comment.
What you will not find on this network is a short introduction to THz or an overview for people not really involved into the THz research. An overview gives for example following article from nature photonics (access of the journal necessary): cutting edge terahertz technology, or searching on wikipedia will show you some results too (terahertz radiation).
Have a look on the THz network, if you know other such pages, or you are even a member, please write a comment :). Enjoy.

"Milestones of Photon History"

On occasion of the 50-year anniversary of the first demonstration of the laser (actually on the 16 May 1960), "Nature Milestones" highlights key discoveries in optics, which are based on the photon:

nature milestones: photons

A timeline is presented with small but compact articles to the different milestones. It presents a fast but interesting overview/ introduction over many important discoveries which are today everywhere used in optics. It is really worth to read it. If I am not wrong, I think the articles are even open access. You can either read it directly on the page or as pdf:

pfd of milenstones timeline (link)
pdf of all milenstones (link)

have fun

ResearchGATE

ResearchGATE is a scientific networking platform, founded in 2008 in Hannover, Germany. Today, over 300´000 thousands scientists have joined from all over the world and from every topic. The access/ registration is free (contrary to its competitions) and the site works like facebook. You can create groups, asking questions, upload your publications, networking, finding people from your field, semantic abstract search, etc.

ResearchGATE

Have a look at their video, where they introduce their network.



What i like on this network is that you can ask a specific questions (most questions seems to be about sample preparation) and in most cases you get even a good answer. Furthermore, you can create groups on your topics...building your own network, staying in contact with others (perhaps once there will be a OSA student chapter group) However, i havent joined to researchgate as there seems to be no real optic group. More detailed information you can find in the articles below and on wikipedia. If you have some experience with this network, please write a comment!


articles:

• in TechCrunch (english):Professional Network ResearchGate Is A LinkedIn For Scientists

• in "DER SPIEGEL" (only german): "Facebook für Forscher"

• wikipedia entry

Photonics Spectra

It is free, and even not so bad. Actually it is quite good and interesting. I am talking from

"Photonics Spectra".

A monthly published magazine for researcher and engineers who are working in the optic/ photonics field. It provides news and featured articles and gives a good overview about new developments in science as well as in industry. Articles are about technical and practical information covering all parts of photonics like "optics, lasers, imaging, fiber optics and electro-optics as well as photonic component manufacturing, solar cell improvements, LED lighting for cars and offices, THz, EHz, UV, IR, and visible light imaging and test equipment." (quoted from the homepage)
A second, smaller magazine exists too for the new bio-photonics field: "Bio Photonics". Photonics Spectra has been published since 1967 by Laurin Publishing Company.
What I like on these magazines too, are the technology updates, new producs and literature, application reports, business reports and calendars of conferences. Sometimes you see by chance some tools or techniques which you can use too for your experiment.

Subscription for Photonics Spectra can be found here: Subscription, and for biophotonics here.
Have a look at Photonics.com too, the "general page" of the magazines. It contains news, blogs, videos and a lot more. By the way, all articles etc. of the magazines can be found too on the page.

Enjoy reading, you will get a good overview about what is going on in the different fields of optics!