Photonics for a Better World

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...

 Roger Angel's prototype solar module based in a spaceframe to continuously track the sun. Image © REhnu Sitting in a conference room, listening to Roger Angel (REhnu and College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona) talk about how he is refocusing astronomical instrumentation to build highly efficient, cheaper solar cells, or watching Eva-Marie Sevick-Muraca (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) show the first-ever video of lymphatic flow inside a human being, or hearing Mario Paniccia (Intel) talk about the amazing advances in computing speed that are around the corner in silicon photonics … well, politics is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind. But politics definitely does come to mind at some point, and most scientists recognize the importance of the relationship between the two spheres. Today’s endorsement by 68 Nobel Prize winners in science of the candidacy of President Barack Obama for re-election is one illustration. ...

Intel’s Mario Paniccia has an amazing list of tasks that could be done via a fingernail-size chip loaded with optical integrated circuits: download the contents of the U.S. Library of Congress in 1.5 minutes, or an entire movie or 150 albums worth of music in a second; or run complex medical imaging from a handheld device, to name just a few items.   An important new piece in creating the solutions for making all that happen in a cost-effective way got a big push forward yesterday in Seattle, at the kick-off event for the new OpSIS lab at the University of Washington. Michael Hochberg (University of Washington), Director of OpSIS    Michael Hochberg, Director of OpSIS (Optoelectronic Systems Integration in Silicon) was joined by high-level friends and partners as well as UW staff, faculty, and students in launching the new lab, a multi-project wafer shuttle service for silicon photonics.   CalTech's Carver Mead -- who coined Moore's Law and is a co-in...