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Authors - Meetings & Conferences

Frequently asked questions and answers for authors submitting to Optica meetings and conferences.

Yes, please visit the “Submit Papers” section on the web page for the meeting/conference for details. A Style Guide is provided on the web site as well.

Specific poster preparation information may be found on the meeting web site. In general, poster presenters should follow the suggestions below:

  • Generally, a 4-foot high x 8-foot wide (122 cm x 244 cm) bulletin board, a sign indicating your paper number, and pushpins will be provided. Please check your specific meeting web site for exact dimensions, as international meetings will vary.
  • Please note that poster papers are not supplied with electricity or audiovisual equipment.
  • Posters should be readable by viewers 2 meters away. The message should be clear and understandable without oral explanation.
  • Try various styles of data presentation to achieve clarity and simplicity.
  • Enlarge your best initial sketch, keeping the dimensions in proportion to the final poster. The rough layout should be full size. Print the title and headlines. Indicate text by horizontal lines. Draw rough graphs and tables. This will give you a good idea of proportions and balance. If you are working with an artist, show the poster layout to your colleagues and ask for comments. This is still an experimental stage.
  • The figures and tables should cover slightly more than 50% of the poster area. If you have only a few illustrations, make them large. Do not omit the text, but keep it brief.
  • Resist the temptation to overload the poster. More material may mean less communication. Prepare a 10 cm high headline strip that runs the full width of the poster. Include the title, authors and affiliations on the strip in letters no less than 2.5 cm high. Post a large, typed copy of your abstract.

You may submit an unlimited number of separate, original pieces of research. However, please do not create more than one submission per paper.

If you are an Invited Speaker, you should have received an email prior to the deadline with instructions for making your submission. Papers are submitted through the ScholarOne system, but please note, a record has already been created for you. DO NOT create a new submission, and DO NOT submit your paper as a regular contributed paper.

If you did not receive your invitation email, do not see the invited submission radio button in the Submissions tab under your account, or if you are unsure how to complete the submission process, please contact the Technical Papers staff by email: cstech@optica.org or phone: +1.202.416.6191. Please reference your particular meeting and any other information related to your talk.

Yes, all speakers and presenters, including Invited Speakers, are required to register and pay for meetings and conferences.

Prior to receiving access to your submission, each member of the Program Committee must agree to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of the peer review, and certify that they will not share these files with anyone outside of the Program Committee for any reason. Other than the Program Committee, only Optica staff has access to the submissions. As a condition of employment, Optica staff must formally agree to keep proprietary information confidential.

Yes, a LaTeX style guide can be downloaded here and may be requested by contacting the Technical Papers staff by email: cstech@optica.org or phone: +1.202.416.6191.

Yes. Please contact cstech@optica.org for any changes in presenters. Note, only authors listed on the paper may present the work at an Optica meeting or conference.

Yes, you my delete your work at any time before the submission deadline, by logging into the ScholarOne system using your login and password. Go to the “View Submissions” page and click on the delete button to the right of the submission. If you need to withdraw your submission after the deadline, please contact the Technical Papers staff by email: cstech@optica.org, or phone: +1.202.416.6191.

No. PDF files are a universally compatible format, ensuring that Program Committee members are able to open and read the files. The format also provides a layer of security for authors. Please do not lock your file prior to submitting it, as Optica will need access to your file to stamp a tracking code on the file. For information about how to create a PDF, please visit the Adobe Acrobat web site.

No. Your speaking date and time is largely determined by the content of your paper (e.g., papers on similar topics are grouped together in thematic sessions). Session dates and times are scheduled and finalized months in advance.

Congratulations! You will receive instructions in the notification email, including speaking time and date, housing information and registration deadlines. Please register before the pre-registration deadline in order to receive a discounted price.

If the deadline is fast approaching, we suggest that you complete the file upload step last and complete all other required steps first (up to and including the abstract). Beginning a draft submission in ScholarOne is critical; papers for which no ScholarOne draft has been started cannot be accepted after the deadline. Contact the Technical Papers staff by email: cstech@optica.org or phone: +1.202.416.6191 if you have started your submission but are unable to complete it before the deadline.

The standard audio/visual equipment provided at meetings includes: an LCD projector, a podium microphone, a projection pointer and a laptop computer with Windows 10, Microsoft Office 2019, and Adobe Acrobat. For additional information or to make an additional special request, please contact Customer Service at customerservice@optica.org.

Postdeadline submissions are not an opportunity to submit a paper after the published deadline, but are intended to provide those with late-breaking work an opportunity to submit that work for consideration. Postdeadline submissions should describe new and significant material in rapidly advancing areas. A limited number of postdeadline submissions will be selected for presentation, and only those papers judged to be excellent and compelling in their timeliness will be accepted.

Submission is the record that is created in ScholarOne, the online submission system, denoted by a 7- to 8-digit number known as the Control ID. In order to complete a submission, you must complete all required steps in the submission process and hit the “Submit” button on the final step. Do not exit the system until you see confirmation that your submission was successfully completed. The submitting author should also receive a confirmation email. If this is not received, then contact cstech@osa.org.

An Abstract is a brief (usually 35-word) synopsis of your presentation. The abstract is submitted in its own step in the submission site AND is included in your summary. If your paper is accepted, the abstract will be published, along with the title and author block, in the Conference Program. The abstract that you submit should exactly match the abstract in your summary.

Summary is a longer document (the number of pages will vary by meeting), submitted as a PDF, that includes your title, author block, abstract, and a summary of the presentation you intend to give (and may include figures, tables and/or references). This document will be reviewed by the Program Committee to determine whether the work is appropriate for presentation at the meeting. If your submission is accepted, your actual presentation may include more information than the summary. If your paper is accepted, the summary will be available to registrants one week prior to the start of the meeting and will be published in OSA Publishing’s Digital Library two months after the conclusion of the meeting.  Any presentations not given will not be published.

As a general rule, presenters should plan on setting up posters at least 1 hour prior to the poster session and taking down their papers within 30 minutes after the conclusion of the session. Authors should remain in the vicinity of the bulletin board for the duration of the session to answer questions.

Anyone may submit a paper to a conference or meeting: Academics or corporate researchers, Optica members or non-members, members of other societies, unaffiliated individuals, etc. Anyone who has conducted original and rigorous scientific research related to the meeting’s topic is welcome to submit. Students are especially encouraged to submit. Please remember, however, that all Optica meetings and conferences are peer-reviewed, and submissions lacking scientific credibility will not be accepted.

Each meeting or conference has a Program Committee whose members review submissions and select papers for presentation. Program Committees are made up of experts in the fields covered by the meeting or conference.

Yes. After the Program Committee has reviewed the submissions and decided which to accept for presentation at the meeting or conference, you will be informed of the decision by email. Only the author designated as the presenting author at the time of submission will receive notification. The email will come from cstech@optica.org. Please set your spam filter to receive emails from this address in order to assure your timely notification.

This depends on the meeting or conference. Please refer to the event’s web site. A longer version of your paper will be needed if the meeting or conference proceedings will be published.

Yes, after you complete your submission by clicking on the “Submit” button on the last step of the process, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. If at any stage you return your submission to draft status to edit, then it is important that you remember to resubmit. Otherwise, you will not be considered for presentation. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact the Technical Papers staff by email: cstech@optica.org or by phone:  +1.202.416.6191.

Papers are not released to the general public. The Technical Program Committee will have access to the papers for review purposes only. Approximately one week before the meeting or conference, accepted papers will be published online in Optica Publishing Group's Digital Library. Access is limited to technical registrants and Optica Publishing Group's Digital Library subscribers. Papers will also be available in the online Technical Digest accessible through Optical Publishing group and distributed to technical registrants at the meeting. The short abstracts, however, are posted on the individual meeting or conference web site once the program has been finalized. This allows attendees to plan their schedules.

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