SPIE and the University of Birmingham Establish $800,000 Photonics-focused Education Fund
30.9.2021 12:03:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and the University of Birmingham have announced the establishment of the SPIE Optics and Photonics Champion Academy fund. The new endowment was announced this morning, during SPIE Photonex + Vacuum Technologies in Glasgow, Scotland.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005066/en/
University of Birmingham students pictured in the UK Quantum Technology Hub, home to the SPIE Optics and Photonics Champions Academy. (Photo: Business Wire)
The $400,000 gift from the SPIE Endowment Matching Program will be matched 100% by the university, and the $800,000 fund will create and support the SPIE Optics and Photonics Champion Academy. The cohort-focused program will engage in areas of public interest in the fields of quantum technology and biomedical imaging and data sciences: one of the first projects will address pandemics. The program will be led by Professor and Principal Investigator of the UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing Kai Bongs, and Professor of Computational Life Sciences Iain Styles.
The SPIE Optics and Photonics Champion Academy will support University of Birmingham students in a variety of ways which include expanding cross-disciplinary educational opportunities in optics and photonics; offering students hands-on support and training to become influential science communicators and advocates of optics and photonics; and by utilizing a range of stipends, awards, and activity grants, which will be supplemented with professional development and mentoring opportunities from the university’s academic leaders as well as from external experts.
The program will focus particularly on students in underrepresented groups, early-career researchers, and PhD students in order to establish and build a broad, diverse, and inclusive network of science advocates, especially in the area of optics and photonics.
“We are delighted to be able to work with SPIE to launch this unique Academy at the University of Birmingham,” said Professor Bongs. “This initiative will help to accelerate the growth of optics and photonics expertise, which will have great impact far beyond the university. Our hope is to not only encourage this learning, but to also create awareness of the huge importance of this subject area in tackling real-world problems.”
“By equipping early-career optics and photonics researchers and PhD students with skills in advanced data analysis, we will help to accelerate the translation of these exciting technologies from the laboratory to their adoption in real-world applications,” added Professor Styles. “Our SPIE Champions will be able to work with experts in diverse application areas such as healthcare and climate monitoring to develop end-to-end optics-based solutions with integrated analytics for some of our most pressing challenges.”
“By offering direct, experiential training in quantum technology and biomedical imaging as well as highlighting various career options in the field, the SPIE Optics and Photonics Champion Academy will develop a natural pipeline of future professional scientists and engineers in these fields,” noted SPIE President David Andrews. “And by encouraging students to actively raise awareness of the impact of optics and photonics to their contemporaries, peers, and younger colleagues, the program will be creating visible, engaged role models for future generations.”
The SPIE Endowment Matching Program was established in 2019 to increase international capacity in the teaching and research of optics and photonics, and to date has given more than $3.4 million in matching gifts, resulting in more than $9 million in dedicated funds. The SPIE Endowment Matching Program supports optics and photonics education and the future of the industry by contributing a match of up to $500,000 per award to college and university programs with optics and photonics degrees, or with other disciplines allied to the SPIE mission.
About SPIE
SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 258,000 constituents from 184 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2020, SPIE provided over $5 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. www.spie.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005066/en/
Contact information
Daneet Steffens
Public Relations Manager
daneets@spie.org
+1 360 685 5478
@SPIEtweets
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Smartstream Smart Agents Delivers 70% Reduction in Back-Office Investigation Time, Proving the Case for Autonomous Operations26.3.2026 11:30:00 EET | Press release
Smartstream, the trusted data solutions provider for leading global financial institutions and enterprises, today announces that Smart Agents - its agentic AI solution for bank back-office operations is delivering measurable, transformational impact, with pilot results showing a 70% reduction in investigation time per user, per break. As the industry accelerates toward a service as software (SaS) operating model, and allowing more work to get done from software solutions, Smartstream is embracing this approach with agentic AI. The results validate a fundamental shift in how financial institutions approach exception management. In one benchmark scenario, the manual processing of 500 exceptions, typically requiring 116 hours of team effort, was reduced to just a few hours under fully autonomous operations. This eliminates swivel-chair workflows and frees up teams to focus on risk oversight, decision making, and higher-value activities. Institutions continue to struggle with back-office w
Hytera Introduces PNC660 450MHz: New Device Certified for Power and Energy Mission-Critical Networks26.3.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Hytera Communications, a leading global provider of critical communications technologies and solutions, unveiled the PNC660 450MHz MCX Smart Device – an advanced mission-critical terminal for private 450MHz LTE and 5G networks at MWC Barcelona. Combining broadband voice, video, and data services with multi-layer security, the PNC660 450MHz enables reliable communications across wide operational areas while supporting evolving mission-critical broadband needs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260325346069/en/ Hytera PNC660 450MHz MCX Smart Device for mission-critical 450 MHz networks. The device has also been whitelisted by 450connect, validating its compatibility with dedicated 450MHz broadband networks and readiness for commercial deployment for power, energy providers, and other critical infrastructure. Wide-Area Coverage with Dedicated 450MHz Networks The 450MHz spectrum offers excellent propagation and buil
Infobip Supports Thousands of Startups and Scaleups Through Startup Tribe Programme26.3.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Global AI-first cloud communications platform Infobip, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has supported thousands of startups and scaleups from over 120 countries in the first five years of its Startup Tribe Programme. Infobip launched its Startup Tribe Programme in May 2021 to help mission-driven startups and scaleups to build and manage their customer communications and engagement strategy and grow their business. It does this by providing access up to $60,000 in credits for Infobip’s services and its global network of advisors, investors, and accelerators. In the first five year, Infobip has provided millions in the value of products and services to its programme members. By eliminating the need to build a global communications infrastructure from the ground up, Infobip’s programme enables startups and scaleups to focus on what really matters: developing their product and scaling their business. Startup Tribe member Ilija Milovic, Co-Founder & CTO at cloud property
LTM Positioned as a Leader in ISG’s Provider Lens™ Evaluation for Oracle Cloud and Technology Ecosystem 202526.3.2026 10:58:00 EET | Press release
LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world’s largest enterprises, has been recognized as a Leader in multiple quadrants in the ISG Provider Lens™ Oracle Cloud and Technology Ecosystem 2025 reports for both the United States and Europe by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm. The ISG Provider Lens™ study evaluates leading Oracle ecosystem service providers across critical capability areas, including: Professional Services Managed Services OCI Solutions and Capabilities LTM’s positioning as a Leader across key quadrants in both regions reflects its strong Oracle ecosystem expertise, AI-led transformation approach, and proven track record in delivering large-scale enterprise cloud modernization programs. In its 2025 study, ISG highlights that the Oracle ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental shift toward AI-native architectures, multicloud-by-design strategies, and asset-based delivery models, with sovereignty and regulatory compli
Bureau Veritas Strengthens Global Sustainable Finance Capabilities with Expanded Climate Bonds Approved Verifier Status26.3.2026 09:30:00 EET | Press release
Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification services (TIC), is pleased to announce the expansion of its geographical scope as an Approved Verifier under the Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme. Additional offices in China, Japan, India, and France are now formally listed in the Climate Bonds Verifiers Directory. This expansion builds on Bureau Veritas’ established role since the approval of its Brazilian office in 2020, further enhancing its ability to support issuers with high-quality, independent verification services across key markets. “Our expanded presence as an Approved Verifier under the Climate Bonds Standard reinforces Bureau Veritas’ commitment to advancing credible, high‑integrity sustainable finance”, said Marc Roussel, Executive Vice President, Urbanization and Assurance at Bureau Veritas. “With verifier capabilities available across key markets, we continue to deliver local expertise with global assurance standards; boosting mark
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom