The lowdown on emerging technologies at Applied Industrial Optics 2015
Arlene Smith, Ph.D.
Applied Industrial Optics (AIO) 2015 is set to take place June 7-11, 2015 in Arlington, VA. I’m excited to be back blogging my experience as an AIO attendee and also, for the first time, as a Program Chair.
This year’s meeting promises more of what AIO is becoming known for: talks on emerging technologies from leading industrial and academic researchers, interactive panel sessions and discussions, and great networking opportunities over the 4-day schedule. In the coming weeks, I will highlight some of the technical talks and events at AIO 2015, including joint sessions with other topical meetings in the Imaging and Applied Optics Congress.
My next post will focus on the AIO Keynote Speaker, Dr Michele Ostraat (Aramco Services Company, USA), who is scheduled to talk about the use of optical systems in the oil and gas industry and the grand challenges associated with meeting the needs of this sector. Numerous invited speakers will present at AIO 2015 . I am particularly looking forward to Dr Chauncey Graetzel’s (Optotune, USA) presentation on his work on tunable lenses, miniature speckle reducers and applications to innovative optical systems. I am also curious to hear about Dr Jaeyoun Kim’s (Iowa State University, USA) talk, which is intriguingly titled ‘The Promise of Highly Deformable Soft Optics’.
As in 2014, there will be two Panel Sessions during the meeting. One of the invited panels will discuss issues and challenges in patenting of optical technologies. The second panel session will cover the use and standardization of optical phantoms for medical devices. At AIO 2014, the panel sessions provided unique discussion and networking opportunities.
I’ll finish with an AIO success story! Recently, it was reported that Norwegian company GasSecure has been sold to Drager for 500 M NOK ($64M USD). GasSecure develops, markets and sells wireless optical gas detectors for demanding industrial applications. Their technology, which was presented at AIO 2012, is a terrific example of an optics solution successfully translating to the marketplace. This is what AIO is all about.
