Marija Strojnik
Distinguished Full Professor, Optical Research Center
President-elect, Sigma Xi
Biography
Dr. Marija Strojnik (Scholl) is a distinguished professor (Investigator Titular E) at the Optical Research Center. Previously, Dr. Strojnik was a senior optical scientist at the Caltech JPL. She earned a PhD in Optical Sciences from the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona in 1979. Marija earned three master's degrees from different universities in Physics, Optical Sciences, and Engineering.
Professor Strojnik has published over one hundred referred publications in international journals with impact factor and over three hundred proceedings papers. Marija was a mentor to over 20 doctoral students who have since established their own groups as professors at different Mexican Universities. She is an invited Guest editor of many journals and Deputy Editor of Optics Express. Prof. Strojnik was awarded the SPIE George W. Goddard award for conceiving, implementing, and demonstrating an autonomous robotic technique for optical navigation using star maps and an intelligent CCD camera. The technique is now used in all navigational instruments and object localization (like cellphones). She was awarded seven NASA Technology Certificates.
Dr. Strojnik is a Fellow member of Optica, of the SPIE, and of Sigma Xi. The Mexican government has honored her by dedicating the largest Library in Latin America with Book collection of Optical sciences with her name. She has three adult daughters, two of them with doctoral degrees, whom she raised by herself after her husband passed away due to ALS.