The group had an amazing day for the Fall 2022 group retreat. It started off with a Vietnamese lunch at Thanh Lien Kitchen, followed by a trip to A Studio in the Woods (ASITW), located along the Mississippi river in Bulbancha/New Orleans. There, we dove into several exciting topics in the field of photonics, applied physics and materials. Our discussions covered several topics including integrated photonics for optogenetics, Pockels lasers, plasmonic nanolasers/SPASERs, radiative cooling and photonics, photonic chips and nanowires, to deep learning for designing photonic structures. The highlight was having the opportunity to explore and enjoy nature by taking a walk through the forest and hanging out on the Mississipi river ridge.