Laura Waller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Waller
Waller speaks at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Data, Society and Inference Seminar in 2015
Born	Laura Ann Waller
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MEng, PhD)
Awards	National Science Foundation CAREER Award
Scientific career
Institutions	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley Institute for Data Science Princeton University University of Cambridge
Thesis	Computational phase imaging based on intensity transport (2010)
Doctoral advisor	George Barbastathis

Laura Ann Waller is a clever computer scientist and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She helps create amazing new microscopes that can see deep inside the brain. In 2017, she received a special award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for this work. She also won the SPIE Early Career Award in 2018.

Early Life and Learning

Laura Waller grew up in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for her university studies.

Studying at MIT

She earned her first degree in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science in 2004. A year later, in 2005, she completed her Masters degree. During her time at MIT, she spent a year studying at the University of Cambridge in England. This was part of a special program called the Cambridge–MIT Institute.

For her Masters project, she worked on designing special electronic circuits called feedback loops. She also tested new ways to build tiny optical devices.

In 2010, Laura finished her PhD, which is the highest university degree. Her research focused on new ways to create images. She learned how to "see" things like the phase (or shape) and amplitude (or strength) of light waves. Her supervisor, who guided her research, was George Barbastathis. She was also part of a program called Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

While at MIT, Laura was very active. She played on the MIT Women's Varsity soccer team. She was also the president of The Optical Society student group.

Career and Discoveries

Laura Waller is known for her work in computational imaging. This is a field where computers are used to create or improve images.

Starting Her Career

In 2010, she joined Princeton University as a research associate and lecturer. This means she did research and also taught students. In 2012, she moved to the University of California, Berkeley.

Her Research Group

At Berkeley, Laura leads her own research group. They focus on exciting areas like:

• Phase imaging: This is about seeing the invisible properties of light that tell us about an object's shape or thickness.
• Super-resolution microscopy: This helps them see tiny things much clearer than regular microscopes.
• Lensless imaging: This is a way to take pictures without needing a traditional lens.

She is also a senior fellow at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science. This means she is an important member of a group that uses data to make new discoveries.

Awards and Recognition

Laura Waller has received many important awards for her work:

• In 2014, she was named a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellow.
• That same year, she also became a Data-Driven Discovery Investigator for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
• She received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. This award helps her research group build special computer programs and equipment. They use these tools to image complex light in four dimensions.
• Her group has also developed new ways to use machine learning for 3D microscopy. Machine learning is when computers learn from data without being directly programmed.
• In 2016, she was given tenure at the University of California, Berkeley. This means she has a permanent teaching position.
• In 2017, she received an investigator award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
• In January 2018, she won the SPIE Early Career Achievement Award in Academia.

Through her work on computational imaging hardware, Laura has made big contributions to medicine and industry. Her group also creates free, open-source software for imaging. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the MIT EECS Rising Stars.

Awards and Honors

• 2021 Adolph Lomb Medal from The Optical Society of America
• 2019 Fellow of The Optical Society
• 2018 SPIE Early Career Achievement Award in Academia
• 2016 Carol D. Soc Distinguished Graduate Student Mentoring Award for Junior Faculty
• 2016 Best Paper Award, International Conference on Computational Photography
• 2012 The Optical Society Ivan P. Kaminow Outstanding Early Career Professional Prize

See also

In Spanish: Laura Ann Waller para niños