Photonics for a Better World

Researchers are learning more about how to improve cancer detection through teaching pigeons like the two above to identify images of cancerous cells. Pigeons have been taught how to detect breast cancer -- with an accuracy rate that surpasses humans -- and in the process have inspired ideas about how to better teach humans how to visually detect cancer. Researchers from the University of California Davis, the University of Iowa, and Emory University published a paper last month detailing how they trained pigeons -- Columba livia , commonly called rock doves, to be precise -- to detect cancerous cells. The birds attained an accuracy rate of 85%, higher than the accuracy of humans doing the task (84%), the Chicago Tribune reported. (Also see the Wall Street Journal for more coverage.) And when four pigeons were tested on the image and their results combined (“flocksourcing”?), the birds were 99% accurate in identifying cancerous cells. The researchers also found t...

SPIE Women in Optics 18-month planner for 2016-2017. Interest in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) can lead to a wide variety of careers. A few examples: exploring photonic nanostructures that can improve the efficiency of solar energy generation observing micro-organisms in the Arctic ice to learn more about lifeforms of all sorts developing optical systems for noninvasive diagnosis of tumors inside the body assessing the radiation hazard to be incurred by humans travelling to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The paths to all careers include some challenges. For anyone looking at a career in STEM, the latest edition of a free annual publication offering insights on those paths has just been released. The 12th edition of the Women in Optics Planner published by SPIE contains more insights from more than 30 women discussing their interests and occupations and offering advice. Among their stories: Viera-Gonzalez Perla Marlene Viera-Gonzalez ...

Harvesting, collecting, and deriving usable energy from the Sun and other sustainable sources for people around our planet has made important leaps forward of late. Whether it is summer or winter in your part of the world, that’s excellent news for our future energy needs. The dual nature of light, recently demonstrated in an image from the Carbone group at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and featured as Figure 1 in a review paper in the Journal of Photonics for Energy : "Energy-space photography of light confined on a nanowire simultaneously shows both spatial interference and energy quantization." doi:10.1117/1.JPE.5.050997 An open-access article in the Journal of Photonics for Energy co-authored by nine international experts* details some of those advances. Here’s a short list from their review of the state of the art, titled "The role of photonics in energy." 1. Making cheaper and more efficient solar cells Today’s solar cells a...

The approach of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in early December has global leaders from every sector thinking about technology opportunities to help meet greenhouse-gas-emissions reduction goals in an effort to mitigate climate change . Photonics at work: A schematic illustration of electromagnetic characterization and detection of pollutants on a sea surface, in an SPIE Newsroom article by researchers at Lab-STICC, CNRS, ENSTA Bretagne . Photonics technologies play an important part in enabling and driving applications that support sustainable development and the green economy. Researchers, engineers, and developers in the optics and photonic community are continually finding new ways to enhance our lives with these technologies. But there is another sort of opportunity for the photonics community to take up: speaking out about the urgency to take action, particularly in the face of climate-change skepticism or denial. UK Astronomer Royal S...

The photograph "Studying" by Handi Laksono captured in a home in Wae Rebo, Flores NTT, Indonesia, on  1 September 2014, is the People's Choice Award winner in the SPIE International Year of Light Photo Contest. A photo of a 5-year-old boy studying in a dark hut, with only natural morning light streaming through a small window, has been selected for the People's Choice Award in the SPIE International Year of Light Photo Contest. The contest was sponsored by SPIE Professional , the quarterly magazine of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, as part of the International Year of Light observance. SPIE is a Founding Partner. Captured by Javanese travel and landscape photographer Handi Laksono , the winning photo was taken after Laksono hiked three hours to the remote village of Wae Rebo on Flores Island in Indonesia. Wae Rebo's only lighting source is solar, either direct sunlight or a few small solar panels, Laksono said. He n...

Mars Curiosity Rover scientist Melissa Rice inspires the next generation with talk of exploring the Red Planet: see the video on SPIE. tv [23:55]. (Above, Rice at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab with a model of the Curiosity.) If it wanted to, NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover could stretch its 7-foot arm up from its 10-foot-high body and slam-dunk a basketball. Admittedly, it isn’t likely that any of NASA’s Rovers -– cars on Mars, as some call them –- will find any basketball hoops on the Red Planet. But the space agency’s newest robotic Mars explorer, the Curiosity, has found evidence of ancient lakes, captured images that reveal the composition of rocks on the planet’s surface, and done something many of us have done: taken selfies to post on FaceBook. Curiosity’s discoveries are far from over. The robot is just now reaching the foothills of the lofty (5.5 km, or 18,000 feet) Mount Sharp, with its mission to scale the peak and report back about what it finds along the way...

The first 60 years of SPIE's history have seen amazing advances, but what will photonics enable in the next 60 years? SPIE Student Chapter leaders will be among those creating the future. Several shared their visions recently at SPIE Optics + Photonics. Sixty years ago, in 1955, the world had not yet seen the first laser -- it had not yet been invented. Fiber optics were brand new, there were no artificial satellites circling the Earth, no humans had been in space, and the first solar cell was in early stages of development as was the first video recording machine. Smartphone? How can a phone be "smart"? In that environment, a group of engineers working in optics and optoelectronics to build the first scientific cameras gathered in a restaurant in Hollywood, California, to discuss a shared challenge. They needed to use high-speed photography to solve design issues and create capabilities in industries from aerospace to communications and to advance research. ...

People often like to separate culture, art, photonics, and optics as completely separate fields. However, when we combine the four fields we can capture beauty that seems so surreal. Light plays a vital role accentuating hidden beauties, illuminating spirits, minds, and hearts in every culture. The advancements made in modern light technology has made it possible to highlight architecture, people, and objects. In the photo above John Danrev Bolus , has captured a “Night of Reflections” at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Bolus is one of 32 contestants for the People’s Choice Award competition in the SPIE International Year of Light Photo Contest . Judges have already chosen three winners, but now it's your turn to choose one more. SPIE is providing a prize of US $500 to the People's Choice winner. Online voting continues through 15 August . Bolus is very passionate about his work and is proud to be representing his home country, the Philippines, as a finalist for th...

Nearly all communication depends on optics and optical technology. Thanks to optical fibers, which are thin flexible fiber made of silica or plastic, we can transmit texts, media, and the internet through light signals over long distances. The internet allows people around the world to feel connected in a way that has never before been possible. Whether originating from mobile phones or modems, almost 100 percent of all telecommunications land on an optical fiber network. In the photo above, Ebrahim Elmoly illustrates how humans rely on telecommunications to capture historic moments like the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. During the Arab Spring riots and demonstrations in Cairo and Alexandria lead to the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and dissolution of the parliament. The word  “لحرية” on flag means "freedoms" in Arabic. Elmoly is is one of 32 contestants for the People’s Choice Award competition in the SPIE International Year of Light Photo Contest. J...

Light is critical to our circadian rhythms, the physiological cycles based on patterns of light and dark that repeat every 24 hours. Darkness during the evening helps signal to our bodies to produce melatonin and fall asleep. Morning light stimulates our neural signals for the brain to wake up. Disturbing this internal clock can affect our performance and health. Light systems, timing light exposure with the circadian clock, can increase sleep efficiency, alertness, and well-being. Scientific findings have shown light can also reduce symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. In the above photo, SPIE Member Jean-Luc Dorier demonstrates how light therapy glass can help reduce the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Dorier is a research engineer at SICPA and formerly a research and development scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Dorier is one of 32 contestants for the People’s Choice Award competition in the SPIE International Year of Li...

Guest blog from Ven: Jacqueline Andreozzi , a PhD candidate at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, blogged on her experience at the Biophotonics Graduate Summer School on the island of Ven, off the southern coast of Sweden, 6-13 June. SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics , and COST, the European Cooperation in Science and Technology, are among sponsors of the school. Also supporting the school are DTU Fotonik, Technical University of Denmark; Lund Laser Centre; NKT Photonics A/S; Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, through its Nobel Institute for Physics; and Thorlabs. Reflecting back on the Biophotonics ’15 Graduate Summer School , one word, new to my vocabulary, comes to mind: “lagom.” The Swedish expression, as I was informed by fellow student Johan Borglin on the first day while touring Lund University, translates roughly to the concept of “just the right amount.” Indeed, the school provided lagom in every aspect of the week, from the scho...

Humans have been improving photography since Aristotle ’s first observation of a pinhole camera in 350 BC, with milestones such as the introduction of the Lumière brothers' panchromatic plate in 1894 and Willard Boyle and George Smith ’s invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD) in 1969. Today, improvements to digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, which combine optics with digital imaging sensors, have introduced astrophotography to the wider public. Since its establishment in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has used astrophotography to render inspiring images of planets, stars, and solar systems. In the photo above, Alexander Stepanenko has used astrophotography techniques to capture the aurora borealis -- the northern lights. The fascinating phenomenon is caused by the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric-charged particles in high-altitude atmosphere. Using a DSLR camera (Nikon D-800), Stepanenko captured the photons and thermal noise of the north...

Seven cameras track the ball from every angle. (FIFA image) The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, currently underway in Canada, is drawing record television audiences around the world. It’s also another milestone for goal-line technology (GLT), which is quickly gaining acceptance. In the group stage, which ended on 17 June, FIFA reports that GLT was used to award goals by Mexico in a 1-1 draw with Colombia, by Thailand in a 3-2 win over Ivory Coast, and by Costa Rica in a 2-2 draw with Korea. Also, it confirmed a save (no goal) on a header by Meghan Klingenberg in the USA-Sweden game, a scoreless draw. The Hawk-Eye GLT system consists of seven cameras positioned strategically at each end of the stadium, to track the ball precisely from every angle. Within one second of a play at the goal line, a signal is relayed to the referee’s watch to confirm the goal. It is reputed to be accurate within 1 mm. Hawk-Eye was selected for this year's tournament in March . Last...