Optica Fellow

Hello all, I am happy to share that I have been elected an Optica fellow "for outstanding and sustained contributions to the theory of laser-matter interaction, and for extraordinary and innovative outreach efforts". Huge thanks to my community for their support. This post will be updated with pictures & stuff at some point.

Here is the whole list (great to see people from everywhere in there)

I broadcast the "outstanding and sustained contributions to the theory of laser-matter interaction" often on this page, but would like to use the opportunity and say something about the "extraordinary and innovative outreach efforts". They were born out of frustration, both at the general and individual levels, and are an example of disruptive/insurgent thinking.

In general, I am a firm believer that science should be accessible and open to all, and one item on the long list that makes it inaccessible is the restricted flow of information. In my research field, conferences and workshops are typically expensive, require long trips, and thus are only an option for those with financial resources. However, for a scientist, they are a bit like "going on tour": you showcase your work, learn from others, and profit from great networking opportunities. A lot happens during breakfast, coffee, lunch, or dinner, and this should not be underestimated.

Without even touching on the subject of huge carbon footprints and the time these events take, conferences leave out a significant part of the scientific community. As someone who was born in the Amazon, I am acutely aware that this disproportionately affects those in the Global South - who can afford the trips, the visas, and go through all the hurdles? Conferences many times are used to exclude, and some colleagues even do this deliberately - members of my group and I have been victims of this.

However, obstacles often lead to new opportunities. In 2020/21, we were locked up, terrified, and dealing with life-threatening circumstances (it did feel like a black mirror episode), but we had the chance to see the huge potential of online meetings. This led us to organize one for free, around controversial topics, which attracted over 300 people from 35 countries. Like this, the Quantum Battles in Attoscience endeavor was born, and subsequently the Atto Fridays seminar series. With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, things went back to normal, and a lot of the online activity died out. However, we continue. There was another Quantum Battles event in 2023, and, up to this date, we run the Atto Fridays series, and a YouTube channel, which is a window to the world for many scientists in our field. All events we organize are either online or hybrid, and broadcast for free on YouTube. We will not change the whole research culture with this, but I believe that every action has ripples far beyond what we can anticipate, and the Battles/Atto Fridays are no exception. It's important to leave our bubble and show who we are, what we do, and bring info wherever we can.

I am thankful for all the Quantum Battles team, which is multi-institutional, multi-national, and has also changed a lot over the years. It is impossible to organize all that alone, although I am also proud to say I played a leading role in these endeavors. The fight continues (or a luta continua), whatever the future brings.