Jun Zhu has been awarded a 2020 Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for her potential contributions to the field of optics, photonics or related field. Jun is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in the Neurophotonics Lab led by Professor Vivek Srinivasan. The Neurophotonics Lab develops new light-based technologies for in vivo imaging and sensing of the brain and eye. Jun’s research focus is noninvasive in vivo animal brain imaging using the long-wavelength optical windows (1700 nm, 2200 nm), for both structural and functional information. Besides research, Jun is also actively promoting the biophotonics field. She is participating in the events, running the social media, organizing outreach activities in the UC Davis student chapter. She is also a volunteer for STEM for Girls and a project mentor in local high school.

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 255,000 constituents from 183 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2020, the Society is awarding $298,000 in education scholarships to 78 outstanding SPIE student members, based on their potential contribution to optics and photonics, or a related discipline.