Technical Group Events
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Upcoming Technical Group Events
Optica Technical Groups host a wide range of activities to help you connect with peers and leaders in your field. Below are the upcoming opportunities to join us at an event at an Optica meeting. To find our upcoming virutal events, please visit us here.
Frontiers in Optics
The Training You Wished You Had: An Optica Technical Group Panel Discussion
When: Monday, 28 September 2026, 12:45 – 13:45 EDT
Where: Highland DG
Across many working generations in optics research and engineering, we have all faced unexpected challenges and setbacks, with some greater than others. Current challenges for us to address include the rise of AI, workforce fluctuations, research funding changes, and new manufacturing paradigms. We can discuss how these challenges have changed over time, and what we can learn from past experiences to support the next generation of advancements in optics and photonics. Join the Imaging Optical Design Technical Group for lunch for a panel-led interactive discussion on what shortcomings in past training have been, and how we can learn from them to be better prepared for the current challenges and opportunities of our time.
The Microgravity Advantage: In-Orbit Manufacturing of Optical Fibers and Advanced Materials Optica Technical Group Panel Discussion
When: Monday, 28 September 2026, 12:45 – 13:45 EDT
Where: Highland BJ
This panel brings together experts spanning NASA's in-space manufacturing program, commercial orbital infrastructure, ZBLAN fiber-drawing campaigns flown aboard the ISS, photonic glass fabrication, autonomous manufacturing systems, semiconductor crystal growth, and independent academic research on crystallization physics. Rather than focusing only on the promise of microgravity, the discussion will examine what has actually been demonstrated in orbit, what technical barriers remain, and what would be required to manufacture next-generation optical fibers and advanced materials reliably and at commercially meaningful scale.
Beyond the Lab: Careers, Choices & Well-being in Optics and Photonics Optica Technical Group Panel
When: Tuesday, 29 September 2026, 12:00 – 13:00 EDT
Where: Highland BJ
This session will bring together diverse professionals from academia, industry, and research institutions who have experienced different career paths, transitions, and challenges. Rather than presenting a prescriptive career roadmap, the event will encourage honest conversations about career pivots, PhD and industry transitions, work-life balance, choosing mentors and supervisors, and maintaining personal well-being. Through an informal, interactive format, attendees will have opportunities to ask questions, share experiences, and build meaningful connections with panelists and peers across the optics and photonics community.
Ultrafast Optical Phenomena Technical Group Rapid-Fire Presentations
When: Tuesday, 29 September 2026, 13:00 – 14:00 EDT
Where: Highland DG
Participants will have five minutes to present their poster research to a small audience in an informal and welcoming setting, similar to a fireside chat. The goal of the event is to create a friendly environment for research discussion and provide students and early career professionals with an opportunity to practice presenting their work and engaging with an audience.
What Do You Measure? An Optica Agriphotonics Technical Group Rapid-Pitch Challenge
When: Wednesday, 30 September 2026, 12:30 – 14:00 EDT
Where: Highland DG
Ten measurement problems from agriculture, food and the environment are circulated to registered teams in advance: pesticide residues at the point of import, pathogen screening on a packing line, adulteration in a sealed bottle, methane from a herd, and six more. Each team of 2–4 students or postdocs draws its topic live on stage, huddles, and gives a five-minute whiteboard pitch of a photonic sensing solution, then takes questions from an expert panel. Prizes for the top teams, certificates for all, and four team slots on a first-come basis.
From Light to Insight: The Future of Optical and Photonic Environmental Sensing Optica Technical Group Panel Discussion
When: Wednesday, 30 September 2026, 19:15 – 20:15 EDT
Where: Highland DG
This panel will bring together experts representing diverse optical sensing communities to discuss the latest developments in environmental sensing technologies and their scientific and engineering challenges. Topics include LiDAR, laser remote sensing, distributed fiber optic sensing (DAS, DTS, DSS), imaging spectroscopy, hyperspectral and multispectral sensing, photonic integrated sensors, interferometric techniques, optical spectroscopy, atmospheric sensing, quantum optical sensors, and emerging optical instrumentation. Panelists will discuss how advances in lasers, detectors, integrated photonics, optical fibers, and signal processing are transforming environmental observations, including common optical principles, performance limitations, calibration strategies, multimodal sensing systems, AI/ML-assisted optical sensing, photonic integrated circuits, chip-scale optical sensors, and autonomous sensing systems.
Finding Schrödinger’s Cat Optica Technical Group Event
When: Wednesday, 30 September 2026, 19:15 – 20:15 EDT
Where: Highland BJ
Finding Schrödinger's Cat is a team-based trivia game exploring the historical milestones, discoveries, people, and events that shaped quantum science and technology. Teams of 3–5 players compete across 18 main rounds, followed by a high-stakes Quantum Final.
Each round begins with a choice between WHAT, WHO, and WHEN, representing different types of historical questions. The winning team normally chooses the category for the next round, although special rounds can alter this privilege. Questions are revealed through progressively more detailed clues, and teams compete to answer using a buzzer. Answering earlier earns more points, creating a constant tension between speed and certainty.
As the game progresses, additional quantum mechanics-inspired elements are introduced. Teams receive a limited number of Quantum Tokens that can be used for special perks, such as obtaining an additional clue, doubling a potential score, or avoiding a risky question. Special Quantum Events can modify the rules of individual rounds, while Risk Rounds allow teams to wager on their answers for the possibility of substantially increasing their score. These mechanics encourage strategic decision-making and give teams that fall behind opportunities to make dramatic comebacks.
The final round puts the game's theme at the center. The team in last place chooses whether Schrödinger's cat is DEAD or ALIVE, without initially knowing the consequences. Their choice determines the scoring and strategic advantages in the final question, potentially allowing the last-place team to overturn the entire leaderboard.
Ultimately, Finding Schrödinger's Cat combines trivia, speed, strategy, risk, and chance, creating a dynamic competition in which no team can be certain of the outcome until the final measurement.
Laser Congress
Optica Technical Group Panel on Future of Laser and Laser Optics: Ideas for the Next Generation
When: Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 13:15 - 14:15 UTC
Where: Beta 1 Room, Radisson Blu Hotel Lietuva
As laser systems continue to become more powerful, precise, compact, and application-driven, increasing demands are being placed on optical materials, component design, manufacturing, surface finish, form accuracy, damage resistance, and optical metrology. The session will bring together perspectives from lasers, optics, materials, fabrication, and testing, with discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities associated with next-generation laser systems.
