Tuan Vo-Dinh to be Part of International Day of Light in Paris

Duke photonics expert Tuan Vo-Dinh, director of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson professor of biomedical engineering and professor of chemistry, will be among a distinguished roster of speakers in Paris on May 16, inaugurating the first “International Day of Light” at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters.

The event, which UNESCO plans to make annual, is intended to raise worldwide awareness of the many ways that light impacts modern society and to consider how advances in light-based science and technology can aid in achieving goals in education and sustainable development. The program will include international experts and Nobel Laureates, cultural interludes, light painting displays, an exhibit from the Mexican Museum of Light, a photonics science show, and interior and exterior displays to highlight the unifying power of light.

The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics has a broad-based interdisciplinary faculty and resources across the Duke campus, including more than 130 faculty members belonging to 39 schools and departments. It focuses on cutting-edge light-based research ranging from diagnosis of infectious diseases, to cancer photo-immunotherapy to photonic materials and quantum computers.