The UK re-joining Horizon Europe signals a commitment to collaboration
The UK re-joins the €95.5bn Horizon Europe programme in a move many scientists have been holding their breath for, signalling that the UK and Europe are ready to collaborate more closely again on research.
Added: 08 Sep 2023
Empowering Community Solutions to Climate Challenges: Optica and AGU’s GEMM Initiative Collaborate w
Optica through the GEMM Initiative—a joint international project with the American Geophysical Union (AGU)—has joined hands with AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange (Thriving Earth) to promote community science efforts that provide tools and solutions to community priorities related to climate change and environmental issues.
Added: 06 Sep 2023
Edwin Land and the Birth of Instant Photography
Photography can show us who we are, and make permanent the ephemeral stories carried by light. From the two-tone heliography to modern smartphones, the story of photography is a story of innovation. It’s the story of optics
Join us in celebrating World Photography Week and reflect on a monumental photography development: ...
Added: 16 Aug 2023
Positive peers and the power of shared experiences
As emerging optics and photonics community leaders, Optica Ambassadors provide career advice, technical knowledge, and mentorship to students and early career professionals by supporting professional development events at meetings and engaging with their global communities.
Added: 24 Jul 2023
Lasers on the Moon and beyond
Humans will soon return to the Moon, accompanied by photonics technology enabling communications capabilities unimagined 54 years ago during the first Moon landing. Free-space optical communications, where laser transmitter light is transmitted through open air or space, will be a cornerstone to upcoming space missions that have their eyes on the Moon and, later, Mars.
Added: 10 Jul 2023
Why are we talking about the talent shortage in quantum, and what can we do about it?
Quantum information science and technology (QIST) is poised to change the world, but harnessing its potential requires a breadth and depth of talent that is difficult to recruit and retain. What can we do about it?
Added: 22 Jun 2023
At the quantum limit of gravitational wave detection
At Optica Quantum 2.0, Victoria Xu, the inaugural recipient of the Theodor W. Hänsch Prize in Quantum Optics, presented her work in quantum optics to fundamentally improve metrology through large-scale interferometers and advanced gravitational wave detection.
Added: 22 Jun 2023
My Story from the 2022 Amplify Optics Immersion Program
In the field of optics, diversity and representation have been long-standing challenges. However, thanks to Optica, recent initiatives and programs have begun to bridge this gap, creating opportunities for underrepresented groups to excel in the scientific community. Read about Maimuna's experiences with two of these programs.
Added: 18 Jun 2023
Imaging the space observatories of the future
At the 2023 Optica Design and Fabrication Congress, Dr. Jonathan Arenberg, Chief Engineer for Space Science Missions at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, took the plenary stage to share the pioneering design of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Added: 13 Jun 2023
Optical technologies enabling fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility
At the Optica Design and Fabrication Congress, Optica Fellow Dr. Tayyab Suratwala, program director for Optics and Materials Science and Technology (OMST), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, discussed the first successful controlled fusion experiment to achieve fusion ignition. Also known...
Added: 12 Jun 2023
