Prof. Valeria Rodríguez-Fajardo
Dr. Valeria Rodriguez-Fajardo is a lecturer at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, investigating the use of structured light in classical and quantum optics. Since her undergraduate studies in Physics, she has been working in the field of optics. Holds a Master's in Optics from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) in Mexico, and a PhD in Photonics from ICFO - The Institute of Photonics Sciences in Spain. She further specialized in structured light during her postdoctoral fellowships at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and Colgate University in the US. During this time, she has delved into various fields, including holography, plasmonics, optical trapping, optical metrology, and imaging. Valeria's current interests are polarization optics, optical metrology, and quantum imaging.
Dr. Jasleen K. Jolly
Dr. Jasleen Kaur Jolly is an associate professor in multidisciplinary vision research combining optometry, ophthalmology, neuroscience, and psychology, among other disciplines to primarily focus on three areas. Firstly outcome measures in novel therapeutics. This can also improve low vision care. Secondly the neuroscience of low vision, including Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Thirdly, the psychology of low vision. Dr Jolly has 94 published papers to date and 2 book chapters. A few years after completing a clinical doctoral fellowship from the University of Oxford in clinical neuroscience she has become an independent academic and consultant working on worldwide clinical trials (Jolly Vision Science), and has an honorary associate professorship in the University of Melbourne.
In this talk Dr Jolly will show how research is not a linear process. Basic science leads to clinical trials when developing novel therapies for patients. The lessons learnt can lead back to basic questions that need answering either about patient care or about the visual system. This shows the need for a multidisciplinary approach to research.
Dr. Benjamin Cromey
Dr. Benjamin Cromey is a Principal Optical Engineer at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. He received his PhD in optical sciences from the University of Arizona in 2020. His work includes key roles on NASA missions such as the Roman Space Telescope Wide Field Instrument, and R&D efforts to prepare for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. He actively serves the scientific community in a variety of capacities across SPIE, Optica, and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
Ph.D. Shadab Dabagh
Dr. Shadab Dabagh is a nanomaterials researcher and biosensor specialist with a Ph.D. in Nanomaterials from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). With extensive expertise in microfluidic chip design, optical sensing technologies, and advanced nanostructured materials. Her work bridges fundamental materials science and practical industrial and biomedical applications. Currently Dr. Shadab Dabagh focuses on the development of innovative, biosensor-integrated technologies aimed at advancing next-generation diagnostic and analytical platforms at Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia (ISSP UL).
Dr. David Rogers
David Rogers received his PhD in Physics from Glasgow University in 1990. His early career was at Philips Research Laboratories (Netherlands), Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and Nippon Telephone & Telegraph (Japan). In 2001 he co-founded Nanovation, which is a fab for innovative oxide semiconductors. Dr. Rogers is the author/co-author of over 30 patents & over 150 publications. He is also an organiser & a regular invited speaker at numerous international conferences. In parallel with developing Nanovation, Dr. Rogers has actively pursued an academic career and he is currently an adjunct Professor in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Technology of Sydney.
