Photonics for a Better World

The many properties of light have long provided inspiration for SPIE CEO Dr. Eugene Arthurs. Editor’s note: A green laser lighted the early career path of then-physics-graduate Eugene Arthurs, now CEO of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics . Light from many sources continues to provide him with inspiration and direction, Dr. Arthurs writes in this blog post originally published in the International Year of Light blog, www.light2015blog.org . Looking back, my career path was not determined by some grand plan, but rather by the beauty of the light from an argon ion laser in our Applied Physics department at Queen’s University Belfast. It wasn’t the science that the laser was bought for, Raman spectroscopy, or an understanding of how the laser would change the world, that drew me. At the time I was soon to graduate with a physics degree – the first in my family history to get a science degree – and was interviewing with a local branch of IBM where my ...

Experts in STEM education (science, technology, education, and mathematics) point out that in teaching, the “how” of science is more important that the “what.” As Shannon Warren , director of a science education partnership grant program in Washington State, noted in a recent magazine feature, learning science means exploring and analyzing, not just memorizing facts and listening to lectures. The “why” is an equally key question, and one that evokes very personalized responses. Professor Jin Kang in his lab at Johns Hopkins University Take Jin Kang ’s story, for example. Twenty years ago, Kang was an undergraduate physics student discovering that while he found the theory behind optics and photonics interesting, what he really loved was building lasers and other optical devices. Kang is now a professor and the chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins University. He conducts research in biophotonics, fiber optics, and optoelectronic ...

Horizon 2020 aims for R&D invesment in the EU. Governments in Asia, Europe, North America, and elsewhere are finding new ways to prioritize their efforts to support optics technologies and industries and to advance their own national competitiveness and economic success. A recent article in the SPIE Professional magazine surveyed the latest developments around the world. This post on European policy is part of a series that borrows from the magazine's report. A previous post focused on what is happening in Asia; next up is North America, where an update to the "Harnessing Light" report of 1998 is expected to be released by mid-August. The European Commission (EC) is negotiating the budget details of its landmark Horizon 2020 program, unveiled last November, which aims to invest €80 billion for research and innovation between 2014 and 2020. Photonics was named one of Europe’s five key enabling technologies (along with advanced materials, biotechno...

That's it! Science teachers in Nepal (above) learned more about teaching optics and photonics during a recent workshop presented through the Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP) program. The program is one of the ways volunteers sponsored by UNESCO, SPIE, and other organizations help share an understanding of the field and its importance. Lasers cut the fabric for our clothing, and etch communication pathways on the chips in our computers and mobile devices. We make phone calls and send data over the internet via wireless broadband and fiber optic networks. LEDs light our streets and rooms, remote sensing systems assess ocean health and monitor water tables, disasters, and weather systems, and light diagnoses and treats diseases. The fruits of photonics are everywhere. The products of optics are omnipresent. And yet, if you have ever been introduced as an optics and photonics researcher or developer, you know that blank looks are also common. The terms simply are n...

We’re living in the Century of the Photon, and examples of the important roles the enabling technology of photonics and optics play in our lives are everywhere. For examples, start with computers and the internet. SPIE Fellow John Greivenkamp , professor of optics at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences, talks about the optical technologies inherent in those applications in this brief video. A list of 50 breakthroughs contributed by researchers at America’s national labs has been compiled in a brochure published by the U.S. Department of Energy , and posted in a PDF on their website. Among the list: From learning about photosynthesis came the ability to explore how to derive sustainable energy from the sun. An engineered particle removes arsenic from drinking water, and an ultraviolet-light system kills microbes that cause water-borne diseases. A revolution in medicine that has saved many lives with cancer-detecting nuclear imaging devices came out of ...