Each year, students from the University of Dayton's Electro-Optics and Photonics (EOP) graduate programs play a major role in the Optica Imaging Congress, one of the world's leading research gatherings in optics and photonics. This year's Congress, chaired by EOP faculty Dr. Partha Banerjee, took place Aug. 18-21 in Seattle.
The Congress brings together experts from around the globe to explore cutting-edge topics such as 3D image acquisition and display, digital holography and 3D imaging (DH3D), computational optical imaging and sensing, imaging systems and applications, propagation through and characterization of atmospheric and oceanic phenomena and radiographic imaging and tomography.
Attendees heard from keynote speakers from some of the top global companies and institutes, like Meta and CNR Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (Italy), attended industry events and tours of Meta and the Allen Institute in Seattle.
For many current students and alumni, presenting at the Imaging Congress as students has been a pivotal moment — not only showcasing their research but also connecting them with global leaders and industry partners. The experience has opened doors for careers in academia, industry and research worldwide.
Alumni such as George Nehmetallah (now a professor at Catholic University of America), Prathan Buranasiri (faculty at King Mongkut University of Technology in Thailand), Renjie Zhou (faculty at Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Yunyang Li (now at Meta) all got their start presenting, organizing and even leading sessions at the Congress. Other former students, such as Ujitha Abeywickrema (faculty at Open University of Sri Lanka), Xiaowei Ge (now at Apple), Haowen Zhou (finishing his PhD at CalTech), have shared their work on international stages such as the Imaging Congress, thanks to their UD research experiences.
George Nehmetallah was the co-Chair of the Digital Holography and 3D Imaging section of this Congress, working his way up from being the co-chair of the technical committee and member of the program committee over the years; Renjie Zhou presented an invited talk, and Haowen Zhou represented his group's work through an oral presentation.
This was EOP doctoral student AlBaqer Al-Ghezi's first conference paper at the Congress,, coauthored with former postdoctoral researcher and EOP alum Hammid Al-Ghezi (who happens to be his dad), and their advisor Partha Banerjee, who presented the paper in Seattle.
“I owe this recognition from Optica solely to our students who have contributed diligently to research in the areas of holography, 3D imaging, and metamaterials,” said Banerjee. “It is fulfilling to see that they are all blooming in their careers. Students become part of your professional family who you continue to nurture over the years.”
EOP students have also featured prominently in other optics related conferences, such as Optica Frontiers in Optics, SPIE Optics and Photonics, SPIE Photonics West and SPIE Defense and Security. Recently, EOP student Sheilah Njoka was awarded a 2025 Optics and Photonics Scholarship by SPIE.
The impact of UD's students and alumni is what highlights the university's presence on the international optics stage. Their work continues to shape the future of imaging and photonics — and their journey started right here in EOP.