World’s leading forum for light science and technology appoints Matter PR to celebrate global community and engage new audiences worldwide.
Optica, formerly OSA, has appointed Matter PR, to deliver its new ‘Optica Community’ campaign. The series will feature ten extraordinary life stories which celebrate the society’s global diversity and the values its members share.
Account Director at Matter PR, Sam Young, said: “Matter PR is thrilled to be delivering this incredible collection of stories. It’s a real ‘Who’s Who’ of optics and photonics and you will hear extraordinary life stories from some of the most important names in optical science in the world right now.
“The series builds on from our two-year global rebrand campaign for the premier society serving the optics and photonics community, in which the Matter PR team helped reposition OSA as ‘Optica’, the society advancing optics and photonics worldwide.”
The first Optica Community story is a profile of Kurdish-Canadian quantum scientist, Ebrahim Karimi, Group leader of Structural Quantum Optics at the University of Ottawa and co-director of Nexus for Quantum Technologies.
His is a compelling tale of perseverance overcoming extreme circumstances and finding belonging in an international community where he has become one of the world’s leading quantum scientists.
In “What Doesn’t Kill Me,” a fascination with light helped Karimi survive war-torn Iran. Born just after the Islamic Revolution in 1978-79, he went from a prosperous life with a politician father to one of poverty and displacement.
After the ascendence of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, new government forces targeted people like his father and uncles whose beliefs opposed the new regime. “My two uncles were killed, one executed in the city, the other dying in the conflict. Then, I learned my father had been arrested and faced the death penalty.”
Fleeing to his grandparents’ home in the mountains at age 10, he had no electricity, central heating, or running water. But he thrived by teaching himself calculus from old books and taking inspiration from the natural phenomena around him.
Chief Scientist at Optica P. Scott Carney, said: “In these profiles, you will see demonstrated Optica values at work. These are stories about impact – impact of our community on impressive and inspiring individuals, and the impact of those individuals on our growing, inclusive global community of nearly half a million professionals from 179 countries.”
Optica’s Community Values
Optica has been a respected authority on light science and technology for more than a century, with a heritage dating back to the founding of the Optical Society of America in 1916. Optica’s publications, programs, events, and advocacy support the optics and photonics community as they invent the future and uncover the beautiful secrets of the universe with light.
Today, Optica unites a diverse population of students, scientists, engineers and professionals working in light science and technology. The society is a champion for the field and advocates for the interests of its members around the world.
The series of stories are set to launch monthly. Readers can find the Optica Community series at https://www.optica.org/en-us/about/optica_community/.
If you are looking for a specialist science communications and PR agency that covers all aspects of science, technology and engineering, please get in touch with us today. Email info@matterpr.com or telephone on 01865 238 164