In this site

The First International Student Chapter of the Optical Society of America

The Southampton University Student Chapter of the Optical Society of America (OSA) was established by research students at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) in 1994, making it the first ever international student chapter.

The OSA is a major organization in the United States covering optics and optical communications. The Society has many thousands of members and serves this community not only by organizing conferences, meetings and exhibitions, but also by publishing journals and books. Standards established by the OSA help stimulate the further development of this increasingly important, scientifically rich field.

The decision to initiate the OSA Chapter arose from a wish to increase the involvement of research students in the activities of the ORC and to enhance communication of new findings both to internal and external audiences. It is hoped that this will result in a greater interaction between students in the ORC and the wider optics community. The student chapter also encourages social activities that enhances members working relationships and provides a break from the hard work of scientific research. In addition, the members of the Chapter further their organizational experience; this will be of great value in future careers.