Photonics for a Better World

First cleaning test on a gilded brass panel of the Florence's Baptistery North Door by Lorenzo Ghiberti. This masterpiece is under restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. Lasers are in the news as usual, this time inspiring a list of what Lewis Carroll’s White Queen might have characterized as "six impossible things” to be believed before breakfast. But thanks to optics and photonics, these things are all possible with the help of lasers: (1) Removing layers of pollution from centuries-old decorative plasters as well as marble and bronze statues . Laser techniques development supported by the TEMART and CHARISMA projects at the Istituto di Fisica Applicata ‘Nello Carrara’ – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFAC-CNR) have enabled restoration of such masterpieces as Donatello's Profet Abacuc, the Etruscan masterpiece Arringatore from the Trasimene Lake, wall paintings such as the painting of the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex in Sien...

 Scientists, researchers, and engineers attend conferences (such as SPIE Advanced Lithography , above) to learn about the latest research and industry developments, network with others in the field, and locate high-quality, right-cost vendors. You know that scientific conferences are not junkets and that cutting national investments in technology R&D will cut national competitiveness in the global market. We hear it from every segment of photonics, and heard it particularly loud and clear at SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing in Baltimore recently. Now you have a new chance to join with others in getting the message out. A survey has been opened to gather input from the scientific community about the impacts of the sequester.   We are passing along the invitation from Benjamin Corb, Director of Public Affairs at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for you to take part and provide the photonics perspective in this cross-discip...