Brandon Buscaino
In the latest installment of Journeys in Optics, OPN spoke with Brandon Buscaino, a research scientist at Ciena, USA, where his work focuses on advanced optical communications technologies and applications. Buscaino was an Optica Ambassador in 2022.
How did you first become interested in electrical engineering?
I became interested in electrical engineering, specifically optics, when I was an undergraduate student in physics. I vividly remember sitting in an introductory course on optics, and my professor explaining to us that a diffraction pattern in the far field can be computed from the Fourier transform of the near-field waveform. Before this, the Fourier transform was a purely mathematical tool that I used occasionally.
The beauty and simplicity with which the physical world could be described mathematically piqued my interest in optics. I very quickly realized that I would devote my professional life to optics and, ultimately, optical communications.
Can you describe your role as the president of the Stanford Optical Society, the graduate-student Optica chapter?
Becoming involved with the Stanford Optical Society (SOS) was easily the best decision I made during my Ph.D. program. Before becoming involved with SOS, I really hadn’t felt like I was part of a community, but after joining, I quickly found many like-minded students, some of whom I now call my best friends.
One of the great things about SOS, and many Optica student chapters, is that they are able to connect with and serve many parts of the surrounding community. Some of my favorite moments were running optics-based outreach demos at local elementary schools or setting up our laser harp and laser maze at our local Maker Faire.
Not only did we connect with our local community, but we were also able to support our academic community. We hosted many technical speakers from all around the world and ran student events for members, including our 100-person optics conference, the Stanford University Photonics Retreat. I was lucky enough to participate in all of the many roles in SOS during my time there, culminating in attending the Optica Student Leadership Conference while serving as the president.
What did you learn from your experience with the group?
“Before becoming involved with SOS, I really hadn’t felt like I was part of a community, but after joining, I quickly found many like-minded students, some of whom I now call my best friends.”
—Brandon Buscaino
Being a part of SOS taught me many things, but if I had to distill those down to a few ideas, I would say first that SOS taught me that you can be passionate about both your research as well as other topics, ideas or hobbies. During grad school, it’s easy to get caught up in your work and fail to realize that there are other important and interesting things happening around you. Being surrounded by supportive students was the first step in promoting a healthy work–life balance.
Additionally, my involvement with SOS taught me a lot of practical skills I might not have learned otherwise. For example, organizing the Stanford University Photonics Retreat required many months of planning and preparation with vendors, sponsors, students and staff. The organizational skills I learned have helped me greatly in my personal and professional life.
Finally, my involvement with SOS reinforced the importance of supporting my community. I was so lucky and received so much support during my Ph.D. that I now feel the need and desire to give back to this wonderful optics community.
Can you tell us about being an Optica Ambassador? Do you have a favorite experience from that time that you would like to share?
The Optica Ambassador program was a turning point in my post-graduate professional life. Like many other students, I did not have the same community to rely on after graduating as I did during my Ph.D. Becoming an Optica Ambassador made me feel that sense of community much more strongly. It’s been fantastic to serve the community through outreach and professional development events.
One of my favorite experiences was creating the Optica Office Hours program, which connects students, early-career professionals and Optica Ambassadors in small groups for informal mentorship and networking. To my joy, later classes of Ambassadors have continued this project. There are many great programs run by Optica that involve longer-term mentorship, but sometimes it’s much easier to connect with and support our members with more informal discussions and mentorships.
How did you decide to pursue a career in industry? How has that experience differed from your time spent in academia?
I suppose that I was lucky in that I knew pretty early on in graduate school that I did not intend to continue in academia. Since my research was in the field of optical communications and sponsored by industry, I naturally found myself approaching research problems with industry in mind. I have always loved more fundamental research, but there is something extremely satisfying about solving real-world engineering challenges.
In my experience, the biggest change from working in academia and industry was the sheer size of the teams. During my Ph.D., I was in a relatively small group and worked primarily with my thesis advisor. I also had quite a lot of control over the research direction and my schedule. In contrast, once I joined my first company after graduation, I ended up immediately working as a small part of a much larger group focused on an interesting but practical topic. I believe that working with others to achieve a common goal is an absolutely critical soft skill that many Ph.D. students do not learn.
“I have always loved more fundamental research, but there is something extremely satisfying about solving real-world engineering challenges.”
—Brandon Buscaino
If you could change one thing about your career path, what would it be and why?
One regret that I have from my time as a Ph.D. student is that I did not attend many conferences Our research group focused primarily on journal submissions, but I feel that conferences give students many intangible benefits like networking opportunities and exposure to new ideas. Also, presenting your work at a conference, whether at an oral session or poster session, forces you to distill your research into a manageable medium for others, which is another extremely useful skill.
What advice would you give to students or early-career researchers?
For students: try out an internship during your program! Although it’s not always possible, learning about industry while you’re in school is incredibly valuable. I see so many students waffling about whether to stay in academia or go to industry, and often that indecision is because industry is a huge unknown. Taking a break to work on a different project can allow your brain to reset, making you more efficient and motivated in your research when you return.
For early-career researchers, I would advise staying involved with your technical communities. Once you start working, it is very easy to get bogged down with work and find yourself keeping your head down. And this often becomes a self-perpetuating cycle, where not being involved makes you less likely to become so in the future. However, the academic community absolutely needs individuals from industry to keep its research fresh and relevant. Whether you choose to serve as a peer reviewer, member of your local chapter or in other capacities, your involvement is crucial for the entire ecosystem, and it will likely help you further on in your career.
How do you maintain a work–life balance?
I think having a balance of healthy and social activities is crucial not only for my mental health, but also for my performance at work. Some of my favorite healthy stress-relieving activities are playing pickup soccer and going to the beach. I’m also a very social person and love to get friends together to watch movies or reality TV. The rest of the time, you can find me playing with my dog, watching the NBA or playing board games with my family.