Hamedi named Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers scholarship recipient

Fatemeh Hamedi, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded a $4,200 Optics and Photonics Scholarship by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), the international society for optics and photonics. 

Hamedi was one of only 85 outstanding SPIE student members awarded a scholarship, based on potential contributions to optics, photonics or a related discipline. The successful applicants were evaluated, selected and approved by the SPIE Scholarship Committee.

Hamedi conducts research in the Biomedical Optics Lab, under the supervision of Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., Jack and Linda Gill Eminent Professor in Science and Engineering. Her research is focused on developing noncontact, depth-sensitive speckle imaging systems for monitoring cerebral blood flow in preterm infants with neurological disorders. She combines expertise in optical design, instrumentation, signal processing and biomedical imaging to translate advanced technologies into tools for physiological monitoring and clinical decision-making.

Her work has earned her several University of Kentucky fellowships and awards, including the Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering, the Max Steckler Fellowship from the UK Graduate School, the Burt L. Sims Graduate Fellowship from the Pigman College of Engineering and was named Outstanding Graduate Student by the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Beyond research, she serves as vice president of the UK SPIE Student Chapter, leading science outreach and graduate student seminars.