Susana Marcos Celestino facts for kids

Susana Marcos Celestino, born on September 25, 1970, is a Spanish scientist. She is a physicist who studies how human eyes see and how light works (optics). In 2012, she was the Director of Optica, a big group for people who work with light.

She has done amazing things to help people see better. For example, she helped create new types of intraocular lenses. These are tiny lenses put inside the eye during surgery. She also found ways to spot eye infections. A cool invention she helped make is a special visual simulator. This device lets doctors test how new lenses for conditions like presbyopia (difficulty focusing on close objects) and cataracts (cloudy vision) will work before surgery. This simulator comes from a company she helped start called 2EyesVision.

In July 2021, she became the Director of the Center for Visual Science at the University of Rochester. This means she leads research in both optics and eye medicine there.

Susana Marcos Celestino's Education

Susana Marcos Celestino went to the University of Salamanca in her hometown. She earned her Master's degree and then her Ph.D. in Physics. She even received a special award for her Ph.D. work.

After her studies, she trained as a fellow at the CSIC. Her Ph.D. advisor was the scientist Pablo Artal. She also had more training after her Ph.D. in both Europe and the United States.

Susana Marcos Celestino's Career in Science

Susana Marcos Celestino's work focuses on making tools to help diagnose and fix eye problems. These tools are used in ophthalmology, which is the study and treatment of eye diseases.

Early Career and Research

From 1993 to 1996, Susana Marcos Celestino had a special fellowship. She worked in the Department of Vision and Physiological Optics at the Institute of Optics. This institute is part of the CSIC in Madrid, Spain.

From 1997 to 2000, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher. She was at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, which is part of the Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Returning to Spain and Leadership Roles

Susana Marcos Celestino returned to Spain in 2000. She got a job at the CSIC. First, she was a senior scientist, and later she became a research professor. In 2005, she became a full scientist at the CSIC. She then started her own Institute of Optics.

In 2006, she was made a professor of research at the CSIC. In 2008, she became the director of the Institute of Optics "Daza de Valdés". She held this important position until 2012.

Awards and Recognitions

Susana Marcos Celestino has received many important awards for her work. These include:

• The King Jaime Prize in New Technologies.
• The Physics, Innovation and Technology Prize from the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.
• The Adolph Lomb Prize from Optica.
• The ICO Prize from the International Optics Commission.

In 2019, she received the 'Leonardo Torres Quevedo' National Award for engineering. In 2023, she was given the Edwin H. Land Medal. This award recognized her amazing work in creating new eye diagnostic and correction technologies. Her inventions have helped millions of patients around the world.

Working with Professional Groups

Susana Marcos Celestino has been very active in many professional science groups. Here are some of the roles she has held:

• 1999–2001: Vice President of a group called Applications of Visual Science for Optica.
• 2001–2003: Chair of the Applications of Visual Science Technical Group of Optica.
• 2004-2008: President of the National Committee of Visual Science, Spanish Society of Optics.
• 2003: President of the Department of Image and Vision, Optics Institute, CSIC.
• 2008: Member of a committee for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
• 2009-2012: Director of the Optics Institute Daza de Valdés, CSIC.
• 2011: Faculty member for the Madrid MIT M + Vision Consortium.
• 2012: Director of the Physics Center Miguel Ángel Catalán, CSIC.
• 2012: Director-at-large for Optica.

Funding and Scholarships for Research

Susana Marcos Celestino received several scholarships to help her with her research:

• 1992: A scholarship from the Spanish National Research Council.
• 1993: A research scholarship from the University of Salamanca.
• 1997: A Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship. This is a very well-known scholarship.
• 1997-1999: A fellowship for a long-term program on Human Rescue Science.
• 2001: A scholarship to visit professionals at the University of Queensland.

Patents and Inventions

Susana Marcos Celestino has patented several methods and devices. These inventions help to fix or improve problems with vision. They have made important advancements in eye medicine. It is quite special for a Spanish scientist to have so many patents.

See also

In Spanish: Susana Marcos Celestino para niños