Why Light? Eugene Arthurs, SPIE CEO answers

We talk to SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs in the second installment of our 'Why Light?' series. The series is leading up to the first International Day of Light, where we asked members of the SPIE community to explain why they feel light is so important.

The inaugural International Day of Light – IDL – will take place 16 May 2018. IDL is a global initiative that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light. This day recognizes light and the vital role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development.

On 16 May, join SPIE and communities worldwide by participating in activities that illustrate how the science and art of light improves all our lives. For more information and to plan your own event, visit spie.org/IDL.

SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs at the UNESCO IYL Celebration

Meet SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs,
Steering Committee Member of IDL 2018

What about light inspires you?

There are multiple aspects to my delight in light. I am using words deliberately to highlight the positive visceral connotations we humans have with light, welcoming dawns and springs, the Celtic Beltane, as the returns of light. Being from Ireland I also grew up aware of the promise or covenant of the frequent beautiful rainbows. Perhaps those natural artworks were why the beauty of laser light drew me into this field. On the more pragmatic side, knowing we are here only because of light, learning how it sets our rhythms, seeing the many applications and the potential we still have to use light to improve lives across the world continues to inspire me, and will until I have to “rage against the dying of the light”.

How can light help overcome a current global challenge?

The simplest answer is the use of new light to provide energy for humanity. This will reduce the burden we are putting on our planet by using “stored light” as our main energy source, and I believe offers a chance for more energy equity. Energy from new light also can provide water from our oceans and allow us to develop new food sources.

What do you do to share your passion for light?

I have had the privilege of being part of SPIE for most of my life, and so been steeped in a community sharing a passion for using light in so many ways. My role has allowed me to speak to many different audiences across the world and I hope my deeply held passion for light has been the constant theme in my presentations.

Comments

Ten Ways to Celebrate the first International Day of Light

The first International Day of Light (IDL) is less than a month away. A global initiative highlighting the importance of light and light-based technologies, communities around the world are planning events celebrating IDL on 16 May. First Place Winner of the 2017 SPIE IDL Photo Contest SPIE will participate in outreach events local to our community in Bellingham, Washington, attend the inauguration in Paris, France, and host an IDL reception for our conference attendees at SPIE Optical Systems Design in Frankfurt, Germany taking place May 14-17. SPIE is also supporting local events in 13 different communities from the US to India, Canada to South Africa, who were awarded SPIE IDL Micro Grants to create activities that highlight the critical role light plays in our daily lives. Do you need some ideas on how to show your appreciation of light on the 16th? Here is our top ten list of ways you can celebrate IDL 2018: 1. Throw a Celebration: Light up your party with ligh...

#FacesofPhotonics: NASA Intern Elaine Stewart

MIRROR, MIRROR: Elaine with the JWST at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland Meet Elaine Stewart: chemical engineering student, world-traveler, intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and this week's SPIE Face of Photonics. Elaine is fascinated by space exploration and how optics impacts our ability to "study distant stars that have never been seen before." Her research has taken her around the world -- from Bochum, Germany, where she studied material science and engineering at Ruhr-Universität, to Houston, Texas, to work on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) while it was under cryogenic vacuum chamber testing, to Melbourne, Australia, where she studied biochemical and product engineering at the University of Melbourne in 2017. And, when she's not busy traversing the globe, she is focusing on graduating from the University of Delaware in 2019 with a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering. Elaine makes a point of remaining an active...

Cataract surgery: misnomer?

On left, the patient’s left eye has no cataract and all structures are visible. On right, retinal image from fundus camera confirms the presence of a cataract. (From Choi, Hjelmstad, Taibl, and Sayegh, SPIE Proc. 85671Y , 2013) Article by guest blogger Roger S. Reiss , SPIE Fellow and recipient of the 2000 SPIE President's Award. Reiss was the original Ad Hoc Chair of SPIE Optomechanical Working Group. He manages the LinkedIn Group “ Photonic Engineering and Photonic Instruments .” The human eye and its interface with the human brain fit the definition of an "instrument system." The human eye by itself is also an instrument by definition. After the invention of the microscope and the telescope, the human eye was the first and only detector for hundreds of years, only to be supplemented and in most cases supplanted by an electro-optical detector of various configurations. The evolution of the eye has been and still is a mystery. In National Geogr...

Photonics for a Better World

Search This Blog