Optics and photonics are part of our daily lives—whether we turn on a light, use our computer, or drive down the street. And every day we consume energy using these technologies. Therefore, any advancements in these areas have huge potential to improve our lives, our communities, and our planet. These advancements will be highlighted at the SPIE Optics + Photonics conference this August in San Diego, Calif.
Long a core optical engineering meeting, SPIE Optics + Photonics is quickly growing in the areas of clean energy and nanotechnology research. As of 2010, the meeting has 12 conferences in green photonics, including illumination engineering, remote sensing, organic photonics, and solar energy. Sustainable energy advances will take center stage in talks by symposium plenary speakers Edward Moses (National Ignition Facility) and Jeffrey Tsao (Sandia National Labs). Moses will talk about laser-induced fusion as an energy source, and Tsao will present scientific, technological, and economic perspectives on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and other solid-state lighting (SSL). Optics + Photonics is also the largest R&D conference on nanotechnology, with around 800 papers submitted this year. The program has 18 conferences on topics such as metamaterials, plasmonics, spintronics, optical trapping, nanostructured thin films, and nanophotonics and macrophotonics for space environments.
Among notable papers in the technical program are: "Semiconductor plasmon laser," by Xiang Zhang, University of California, Berkeley; "Active control of near-IR metamaterials utilizing stretchable elastomeric polymers and phase-transition materials," by a group led by Harry Atwater at California Institute of Technology; "Printed flexible solar cells," by John Rogers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and Advances in integrated quantum photonics," by authors including Yaron Silberberg, Weizmann Institute of Science. A panel discussion on "Commercialization of Emerging Photovoltaics Technologies" will be moderated by Loucas Tsakalakos (GE Global Research) and Sean Shaheen (University of Denver).
For the first time this year, papers from conferences on organic photovoltaics and organic light-emitting materials and devices are being submitted for review for publication in the new SPIE Journal of Photonics for Energy. Zakya Kafafi (National Science Foundation), Photonics Devices and Applications Symposium Chair, is Editor of the journal.
The conference also has a free exhibition. Come see over 200 companies, a vintage laser display, and visit the "Lighting for a Better World" pavilion.
SPIE Optics + Photonics is a leading conference on green photonics technologies such as energy, sustainability, conservation, and environmental monitoring. For more information, go to www.spie.org/op.
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 188,000 constituents from 138 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional growth.
