International Year of Light Activity Grant Report

Recipients of SPIE International Year of Light Activity Grants are required to submit a report to the Society on how the
grant was used within six (6) months of receiving the award. Please complete this form and email to
outreach@spie.org or mail it to SPIE no later than July 31, 2015.
Sydney University Optics Student Chapter
SPIE Chapter Name: ________________________________

usydoptics@gmail.com
Email address: ___________________________________

$3000 USD
Amount awarded: ________________________________

Caitlin Fisher
Contact Person: ___________________________________

1.

Please briefly describe how you used the funds from the IYL Activity Grant and how your activity increased
optics and photonics:
The IYL Activity Grant money went towards the development and construction of the Laser Harp, an interactive art
installation which was exhibited in the city-wide light and ideas festival, Vivid, held annually in Sydney, Australia.
The festival is huge and attracted a record number of 1.7 million local and international visitors this year.
Our installation stood outside for the 18 nights as part of the Light Walk, and the public was invited to play the
Laser Harps laser strings. As each note was accompanied by a sound and programmed LED panel light display. As
well as being a piece of art, the harp was also used as a subtle educational tool to link the properties of light waves,
namely wavelength and frequency. Each note would also trigger an animation on a projection in front of the harp.
The animations reflected the nature of the note played; the pitch of the note dictated the color, size and speed of
the corresponding animations.
Please find attached a breakdown of the costs of the Laser Harp, and highlighted are the items allocated to be
funded from the SPIE IYL Activity Grant. Other funding was provided by the Vivid festival and the OSA.
2. Please tell us how many students your IYL activity impacted:
The whole student chapter (18 people) got involved in the initial artistic development of the Laser Harp and also the
nightly maintenance during the Vivid Festival. The chapter committee (6 people) was more highly involved in the
construction and development of the Laser Harp itself during production. During the Vivid festival, all members
where on a rotating roster and took turns turning the harp on and off during the 18 days.
As for public participation, Vivid attracted 1.7 million visitors this year and the Light Walk is one of the most
publically accessible parts of the festival as it is outdoors and free to see all evening from 6-12 midnight. The Laser
Harp was constantly surrounded by curious members of the public and was particularly popular with children. We
received a lot of positive feedback from members of the public both directly and also from the Vivid volunteers who
supervised the site.
3. How was SPIEs contribution acknowledged?
The SPIE logo was placed on the Sydney Vivid festivals website and also on the information plaque at the scene of
the Laser Harp installation for the duration of the Vivid festival (18 nights).
The Vivid website can be found at: www.vividsydney.com/media-centre

4. How was the International Year of Light acknowledged?

The IYL logo was placed on the Sydney Vivid festivals website and also on the information plaque at the scene of
the Laser Harp installation for the duration of the Vivid Festival. The IYL was also advertised in the Laser Harp
description on the website and the information plaque. The vivid volunteers manning the harp during the nights
were also aware of the IYL and would discuss this with the visitors to the installation.
Please include a picture(s) of your International Year of Light activity for possible use by SPIE for its website.
Please find attached an article detailing our participation in the IYL. There are numerous photos available for use,
and the SPIE is welcome to use any and all of the article itself.

27th July 2015

Signature

Date
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