2017 WiSET Award winner: Angeles Camacho

We are delighted to present this year WISET award winner Angeles Camacho.

Here is an introduction of the winner by our WISET SG:

Angeles Camacho is a second-year postgraduate research student in the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). Her doctoral research is on novel fabrication methods for optical fibres. She set up the Diversity Officer role at the University of Southampton Optics and Photonics Society. Angeles has passionately driven initiatives to raise awareness of issues relating to diversity in the workplace through innovative activities within the student body of the ORC, engaging members of the university, school children and members of the public through diversity focused activities. Her work is helping to recognise the contribution of women to Optics and Photonics and contributes towards a gender equality culture. She is a role model for young women to choose optics and photonics as a career.

And, that is what Angeles tells about herself.

PhD candidate for the Optoelectronics Research Centre. My current research is aimed to develop an additive manufacturing process that allows fabricate complex geometries and multi-material optical preforms using a 3-D printing approach. I have been supporting MSc students as a mentor in the courses of MSc Optical Fibre Technologies and MSc Photonic technologies. I have an active role within the Optics and Photonics Society (OPSoc) of the University of Southampton, where also represent the Optical Society of America, The International Society for Optics and Photonics and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers student chapters.

Initially, as Diversity Officer in the OPSoc, my principal contributions were the incorporation of activities aligned with the Equality and Diversity initiatives within the University of Southampton. As an example, under the supervision of Adriana Wild, I coordinated the attendance of five students from Undergraduate, Master and PhD level. Same that promoted their work in the international conference WomEncourage in 2016, at Johannes Kepler Universität in Linz, Austria.

I constantly promote Outreach and Public Engagement activities. Also, I contribute to events across the University and beyond. During the Inspire Course project, I shared my experience as a PhD student and my professional career with female students from more than 20 secondary schools across Hampshire. Inspire Course Project helped students to experience science through one day at the University. After the talks and workshops, the students, also, received a tour to the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Photonics at the ORC, where I carry out my PhD.

Due to the great success of the initiatives, the International Society for Optics and Photonics awarded my diversity project 2017 with a specific funding aimed to promote the participation of women in science. I organised an event to celebrate the International Women’s Day 2017, where researchers, staff and students had the opportunity to share their experiences and the challenges they face as professionals, women, wives and mothers. This event was funded by the SPIE award and the generous contributions from the Scientific Women’s Academic Network (Athena SWAN) of the Electronics and Computer Science; the department of Physics and Astronomy through their Women in Physics Society and the Schlumberger Foundation through their Faculty of the Future programme.

Outside the University, I organised a panel in joint collaboration with the Southampton City Council where staff and students from the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering and the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment discussed strategies to inspire Southampton’s new generations of women to embrace science as a path for success. More recently, I am extending the impact of these programmes beyond the United Kingdom. I am now promoting with Universities in Mexico a programme which will allow female students to spend a summer abroad with the aim to encourage them to continue their careers in Science and Technology at postgraduate level.

Thank you, Angela, for being such a great source of inspiation for all women!