【PHOTONICS】Yao Fan Awarded 2022 Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship

PITTSFIELD, Mass., June 10, 2022 — Yao Fan, a doctoral student at Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST), was awarded the 2022 Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship for her contributions to the field of optics and photonics. Fan’s research interests include quantitative phase imaging, computational microscopic imaging, and the development of novel microscope instruments.

Fan holds four patents related to microscopy, and she has won several awards in recognition of her work. She has also served as first author of numerous papers and has contributed to many more.

Yao Fan, a doctoral student at Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NJUST), has been awarded the 2022 Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship for her contributions to optics and photonics. Fan is pursuing R&D opportunities in microscopy. Her research focuses include computational microscopic imaging and quantitative phase contrast imaging. Courtesy of Yao Fan via SPIE.

In a letter of recommendation, Liangcai Cao of Tsinghua University described Fan's contribution to a national research project between Tsinghua and NJUST: “In the traditional phase imaging system, the intensity information transmitted by the optical system cannot be adequately sampled or digitized, reducing the resolution,” Cao said. “Yao proposed a novel method to yield a nearly fourfold increase in the space-bandwidth product compared to the conventional differential phase contrast approach.”

The work yielded a microscope with a compact setup, a large field of view, and high resolution. In 2021, Fan earned the Wang Daheng Optics Prize — Student Award from the Optical Society of China. At NJUST, she has been a member of the SPIE student chapter since 2017 and served as vice president following her election to the position in 2019.

“I am honored to receive the Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship, which recognizes my work in promoting the fields of optics and photonics,” Fan said. “This award has also strengthened my resolve to continue working to advance the field of optics and photonics. I have learned about Mrs. Laurin and her experiences. I admire her contributions to the promotion of the photonics industry.”

Tom Laurin, president of Photonics Media, said, “It is our great pleasure to congratulate Yao Fan and to award her the 2022 Teddi Laurin Scholarship. This award honors the vision and spirit of Photonics Media’s founder, Teddi Laurin, and her commitment to propel the optics and photonics industries through self-driven innovation and open collaboration. We wish Yao tremendous success with her research and are proud to support her pursuits as a student and an educator.”

Already an accomplished researcher, Fan plans to use the funding from the scholarship for technology upgrades and materials to support her research. She hopes to become an educator and advance her research in the areas of computational light microcopy and the development of scientific instruments.

Photonics Media partners with SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, to fund the Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship to raise awareness of optics and photonics, and to foster growth and success in the photonics industry by supporting students involved in photonics. The scholarship is awarded yearly in memory of Teddi C. Laurin, the founder of Laurin Publishing and Photonics Media.