History
Peer Organization Anniversaries and Celebrations
Optica congratulates the following organizations on their recent anniversaries and milestones.
If you would like to include an event for your organization, please contact the Optica Awards Office (awards@optica.org).
2020
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) 
DPG, which began in 1845 with six young scientists from the colloquium of Gustav Magnus, has grown into a society with 60,000 members. It promotes physics and supports the community through meetings, events, publications, and more. Optica has enjoyed many years of collaboration with DPG, and together we present the Herbert Walther Award. We look forward to many more years of partnership. Congratulations on this milestone.
2019
V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS
On 17 October 2019, V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS (Tomsk, Russia) celebrates 50 years of its research in optics. Founded in 1969 with a staff of only five scientists, the Institute has reached the level of international appreciation as one of the leaders in atmospheric optical studies.
V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS and Optica have cooperated for many years. Congratulations on this milestone.
Optical Society of Korea (OSK)
OSK celebrated its 30th Anniversary during the 2019 Optics and Photonics Congress held in Busan. The Congress combined the Optical Society of Korea Summer Annual Meeting and the OSK-Optica-OSJ Joint Symposium.
Optica President Ursula Gibson, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, attended the Congress to participate in a panel discisson on “Challenges and Future Directions of Optical Academic Societies,” deliver a keynote speech on “Semiconductor Core Optical Fibers”, speak during the Women in Optics session, and present the OSK-Optica-OSJ Joint Symposium Student Prizes.
Chinese Optical Society (COS)
COS will celebrate its 40th anniversary in December 2019. Founded in 1979, COS was organized to advance technological development of optics and promote the communication of scientists, engineers, educators and students.
Optica and COS have been partner organizations for more than 20 years. Optica looks forward to continuing this partnership and congratulates COS on this milestone.
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
Optica congratulates the ICTP in Trieste, Italy on 55 years of contributions to the optics community. Optica and ICTP have worked together for nearly 10 years on events including the annual ICTP Winter College and activities surrounding the International Day of Light.
In 2019, Optica Past President Anthony Johnson attended the ICTP Winter College on Applications of Optics and Photonics in Food Science and 2019 Optica President Ursula Gibson attended the International Day of Light flagship event Illuminating Education hosted by ICTP.
Chinese Society for Optical Engineering (CSOE) 
CSOE celebrates their 5 year anniversary this year. They were organized in 2014 to bring together optical engineers in China.
Optica congratulates CSOE on its successful start, and looks forward to future collaborations.
2018
Australian Optical Society (AOS) 
The celebration of AOS’s 35th anniversary took place in December during the Australian Institute of Physics Congress. The event was a week of world-class science that includes the Australian Optical Society Conference, 43rd Australian Conference on Optical Fibre Technology (ACOFT), and the Conference on Optoelectronic and Microelectronic Materials and Devices (COMMAD).
Optica President Ian Walmsley, University of Oxford, UK continues Optica’s tradition of participation in the AOS Annual Meeting.
Optica has enjoyed many years of collaboration with AOS and looks forward to our continued partnerships.
Vavilov State Optical Institute (SOI)
SOI, located in St. Petersburg, Russia, celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2018. It is the largest research centre in Russia carrying out the developments of basic and applied optical problems.
SOI was named after a prominent scientist-physician, academician, president of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1945-1951), Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov who worked at the Institute for a many years and was its scientific leader.
Optica congratulates SOI on this milestone.
European Physical Society (EPS) 
On 28 September 2018, EPS celebrated its 50th anniversary, during “Festakt" at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Optica CEO Elizabeth Rogan and other staff members will attend the special celebration and symposium in honor of the long partnership between EPS and Optica.
SEDOPTICA
SEDOPTICA, la Sociedad Española de Óptica, celebrated its 50th Anniversary during XII Reunión Nacional de Óptica, RNO2018 at the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón in July 2018 .
Optica has enjoyed many years of collaboration with SEDOPTICA and the scientific community in Spain and we look forward to many more.
Optica Past President Chris Dainty, National University of Ireland, Galway, participated in the 50th anniversary celebration.
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL)
The Symposium for the Science of Light, hosted by MPL in July 2018, celebrated three important anniversaries in Erlangen optics: 150 years of optics research in Erlangen, the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Max Planck Research Group for Optics, Information and Photonics (the precursor of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, MPL) and 1.5 years of the inauguration of the new MPL building.
Optica CEO Elizabeth Rogan, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Publishing Officer Elizabeth Nolan, and Director, Optica Europe Yann Amouroux attended the symposium and congratulated MPL on their successes.
Several Optica members participated as invited speakers: Optica Past President and Fellow, Joseph Eberly, University of Rochester, USA; Optica Board Member and Fellow, Michal Lipson, Columbia University, USA; Optica Fellows: Jens Biegert, ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Spain; Robert Boyd, University of Ottawa, Canada; Tobias Kippenberg, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; Yuri Kivshar, Australian National University, Australia; Gerd Leuchs, Max-Planck-Institut Physik des Lichts, Germany; Jon Marangos, Imperial College London, UK; Monika Ritsch-Marte, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria; Stefan Wabnitz, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Italy; Frank Wise, Cornell University, USA.
Photonics Society of Poland (PSP) 
The Photonics Society of Poland recognized their 10th anniversary with a symposium on 18 May 2018 in Warsaw, Poland. The event was held in conjunction with their International Day of Light celebration. The program featured many distinguished speakers including Optica Past President Philip Russell, Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany.
Opticacongratulations PSP on their anniversary and looks forward to continued collaborations.
Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) 
Congratulations to SAS on their 60th anniversary. The society has long and rich history of advancing and disseminating information related to spectroscopy and other allied sciences.
Optica has collaborated with SAS for many years, and along with the Coblentz Society, co-sponsor the Ellis R. Lippincott Award for vibrational spectroscopy.
2017
Imperial College London
With the formation of the Department of Technical Optics in 1917, Imperial College London is the oldest institution of higher education and research in Optics not just in the UK but in the world!
The Optics Centenary Event on 8 September 2017 featured a program of distinguished speakers, who embodied the outstanding legacy and impact of optics and lasers at Imperial College London.
Optica was proud to sponsor such an exceptional celebration. Learn more about optics at the Imperial and the Centenary Event.
Academia Mexicana de Óptica (AMO)
AMO celebrated its 30th anniversary during the biennial Mexican Optics and Photonics Meeting (MOPM) in Puebla, Mexico 6-9 September 2017.
Plenary speakers included Optica Past President Eric Mazur, Harvard University, USA and Optica Fellows: Glenn D. Boreman, Univ of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA; Demetrios Christodoulides, Univ. of Central Florida, USA; Angela M. Guzman, Univ. Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia; Joseph W. Haus, Univ. of Dayton , USA; Giancarlo C. Righini, Enrico Fermi Center & Nello Carrara of Applied Physics, Italy; Bruce J. Tromberg, University of California, USA
Optica looks forward to future collaborations with AMO.
Indian Laser Association (ILA) 
ILA was established 30 years ago to promote education, advancement and applications of laser science and technology in India. Its activities include seminars, symposia, training courses, books and journals.
Congratulations on this milestone.
2016
American Chemical Society (ACS)
ACS, formed following a meeting of chemists celebrating the centennial of Joseph Priestley’s discovery of oxygen in 1874, celebrated its 140th anniversary this year. The society was. It has grown from 35 chemists in New York City to nearly 157,000 chemists, chemical engineers, and related scientists in more than 140 countries around the globe.
The ACS serves an important role in the advancement of science, public education and advocacy for chemistry and chemists. Congratulations on this milestone.
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Congratulations to AIP on their 85th anniversary. Optica recognizes AIP’s dedication to enhancing the field by promoting and advancing the physical sciences. The collaborations that have formed over the last 85 years have a lasting impact on the photonics industry.
European Optical Society (EOS)
EOS celebrated their 25th Anniversary during their September 2016 Annual Meeting in Berlin, Germany. The meeting featured tutorials for students, several topical meetings, workshops, Fellows ceremony, Award ceremonies, and an Industrial Exhibition. Eric Betzig, Nobel Prize Winner 2014, delivered the keynote speech.
EOS’s talented staff and members have been invaluable and dedicated partners with Optica over these many years, and we look forward to future collaborations.
Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP)
Congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP). JSAP is a leading academic society in Japan, covering a broad variety of scientific and technological fields, and state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary topics.
Optica has enjoyed many years of collaboration with JSAP and the scientific community in Japan and we look forward to many more.
Sociedade Brasileira de Física (SBF) 
The Sociedade Brasileira de Física recognized 50 years of promoting scientific research in the Brazil during Encontro de Física de 2016 in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The following Optica Fellows participated as invited speakers: Steven Cundiff, University of Michigan, USA; Roger Falcone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA; and Anderson Gomes, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
Optica recognizes SBF’s dedication to encouraging and promoting international exchanges; contributing to initiatives and public policies to encourage better training, utilization and distribution of teachers and physics researchers; and upholding the prestige of science in the country. Optica is proud to collaborate with SBF.
Società Italiana di Ottica e Fotonica (SIOF)
Congratulations on the 25th anniversary of SIOF. The society promotes research and development in optics and photonics and to coordinates these activities throughout Italy.
Optica looks forward to continued partnerships with SIOF and the scientific community in Italy.
