Founded by Dr. Katie Chong and Dr. Sarah Lau in 2021, the Sydney Photonics Industry Network (SPIN) is a community-driven initiative committed to connecting professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts within Australia’s Optics and Photonics industry, with a primary focus on Sydney. Our mission is to create a collaborative ecosystem that stimulates innovation, facilitates knowledge exchange, and supports career development for individuals within the photonics sector.
Key Objectives:
- Promoting Innovation: SPIN serves as a dynamic platform for startups and entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations to the wider photonics community, fostering creativity and contributing to the growth of the industry in Sydney.
- Knowledge Exchange: Through a variety of events, workshops, and networking opportunities, SPIN aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise among members, encouraging commercialization and collaborations between research groups and industry partners.
- Supporting Career Development: SPIN strives to connect early and mid-career professionals with industry veterans, promoting mentorship and peer support to advance individuals’ careers.
The Sydney Photonics Industry Network Pty Ltd (ACN 673 037 146) is a registered company in Australia .
The Team
Katie Chong, PhD
Co-Founder & Director
Dr. Katie Chong has over 12 years experience in the Optics and Photonics field with a research background in Nanophotonics. Katie’s industry experience spans across optical engineering and program management and between R&D and Advanced Manufacturing in some of the largest photonics companies in Sydney. Katie is passionate in bringing together the photonics community locally and internationally.
Locally, Katie was the OSA student chapter treasurer and SPIE student chapter president at the Australian National University prior to starting SPIN. Internationally, Katie has been a member of several SPIE governance and conference committees since 2018.
Katie completed her PhD in Nanophotonics at the ANU in 2017. She has since worked at Finisar Australia, Baraja and Advanced Navigation, and is currently a Staff Program Manager at Q-CTRL.
W. Y. Sarah Lau, PhD
Co-Founder
Dr. W. Y. Sarah Lau is passionate about seeing research inform and drive new and impactful technologies. She completed her doctorate in Quantum Optics at the University of Queensland, in collaboration with the Australian National University. She has worked as an R&D optics engineer at Finisar Australia, where she gained experience in advanced manufacturing and delivering a first-to-product to customers.
Recently she has taken up a position at CSIRO with their ‘Impossible Without You’ campaign with ambitions to combine her passion of translating research out of the lab with frontier quantum technologies research. She previously trained and briefly worked as a high school teacher and has a particular soft-spot for engaging underrepresented groups in STEM, especially early on in their education.