Last updated: Apr 2025
We are the joint student chapter of the SPIE (International Society for Optical Engineering), Optica (formerly, Optical Society of America), and the IEEE Photonics Society at the University of California, Berkeley. The club is operated by students who are dedicated to advancing the field of optics. Our members are affiliated with several departments on campus including Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Astronomy, Vision Science and Optometry. We are committed to promoting the optics community on campus. To become involved in PhotoBears, attend a PhotoBears meeting or contact the current members.
Get involved!
- Join our mailing lists to hear about upcoming events: To receive Photobears news, subscribe to our Photobears google group.
You can also subscribe to the optics mailing list at UC Berkeley (list name: “optics”) through bConnected Lists. - Attend our events. See upcoming events below or subscribe to our Google Calendar!
- Help plan events! We need more exec officers to make our events happen! Join the exec team by emailing officers@photobears.studentorg.berkeley.edu
Photobears activity highlights are featured on the IEEE Photonics Society website in 2025!
Photobears received IEEE Photonics Society’s “Most Improved Chapter” award for 2023!
IEEE Photonics Society gives five chapter awards annually, and we are honored to be recognized as one of the five chapter award recipients from an outstanding list of 190 chapters worldwide.
Upcoming events – Save the Dates!
Please see the schedule below for the time and location of our events. Check our mailing list emails for event details.
Spring 2025
Career Development Seminar
Title: Innovation and Product Development in Ultrafast Lasers
Abstract: Embark on a journey to uncover the art of identifying emerging technology trends in lasers and seamlessly integrating them into research and product development. Gain insights into how a visionary company like MKS thrives on innovation, and discover the specific skills and attributes sought after in employees with an entrepreneurial spirit. You will have a window into the dynamic world of innovation with examples drawn from the cutting-edge field of ultrafast lasers.
Time: Thursday April 3rd, 12-1pm, Soda 510
Presenter: Dr. Jim Kafka, Optica President and Emeritus Fellow at MKS and Spectra-Physics
Computational Imaging Lunch Seminar
Title: Adaptive Optical Multi-Spectral Matrix Approach for Label-free High-resolution Imaging through Complex Scattering Media
Monday January 27th 12-1pm, Soda 510, Zoom
Presenter: Minh Dinh, PhD Student, University of Southern California
More events coming soon! Stay tuned
Photobears Exec Planning Meetings (Recurring)
Help us plan the Spring seminar series featuring research and industry talks!
Email us at officers [at] photobears.studentorg.berkeley.edu to join in person or over zoom!
We are looking for seminar speakers to launch our fall Optics+Imaging+Lightning talk series!
Visit the Past Events Page to see past events.
UC Berkeley students: sure to select Photobears as your student chapter in your Optica membership. This helps us maintain our status for funding these awesome events!
Our sponsors
