Along my career path, I have met some amazing scientists, especially women, starting with some of my high school teachers and lecturers at university. I had so much support and encouragement from them that I only realized that gender discrimination was something real when I started my postdoc. Luckily, I had — and still have — excellent colleagues and mentors to inspire and support me.

Fundamentally, I love learning and trying to make the world a better place. I have been lucky enough to work with people who are just as passionate about their work as they are about diversity and inclusion. My work is interdisciplinary: I design and build imaging systems for biologists, engineers, physiologists, and even art conservators.

Currently, I am the head of a research group in biophotonics and the director of a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence in photonic and quantum technologies, Te Whai Ao — Dodd-Walls Centre. As the head of the biophotonics group, my main responsibilities are securing funding for the project and group members, making sure we deliver on these research projects, and supervising the research students.

Te Whai Ao — Dodd-Walls Centre’s goal is to develop an inclusive, diverse, knowledgeable, and dynamic research ecosystem in photonic and quantum technologies known for excellent science, innovation, and people development. As the director, I interact with industry, policymakers, and a broad range of researchers. We also organize outreach events and support students.

My greatest accomplishments are with people and science: I am proud of the students I have supervised and the people I have mentored, as well as of my scientific achievements. I am particularly proud of my work in monitoring bacteria and understanding cartilage degeneration to enable the early detection of osteoarthritis.

I am also passionate about teaching, which means that at the start of my career as a lecturer, I spent a lot of time improving course delivery. As a result, my publication record took a hit, so, at some point, I made the conscious decision to focus on my research and secure grants. That paid off, and my research group is thriving.

I’m proud to be doing my part to make our research community more inclusive and to have enabled the successes of others. I hope, in doing so, that I’ve been able to remove barriers for people who traditionally would not have studied or worked in optics and photonics.

Frédérique Vanholsbeeck
Director, Te Whai Ao — Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonics and Quantum Technologies; Professor of Physics, The University of Auckland
Born in Belgium / Resides in New Zealand
Educational Background: Certificate in Architecture, Institut Supérieur d’Architecture Victor Horta, Belgium; BSc in Physics, Graduate Diploma in Teaching – Secondary, MSc in Physics, and PhD in Physics, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium