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In this issue: Help write OSA’s 100th anniversary story, upcoming OFC opportunities, FiO call for papers, join the Light BLOX challenge and more!

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OSA: Light in Focus
OSA Member News

Your source for OSA news and events

March 2015

IYL 2015 opening ceremony
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Opportunities

Help Write OSA’s 100TH Anniversary Story!

OSA will be 100 years old in 2016, and we are planning a big celebration to commemorate this historic event. Our focus is on the extraordinary people who have advanced the field and have been an important part of our community.

Please share with us your stories, photos and anecdotes about your experience with OSA and its members.

Announcing a Free Live-stream of the OFC Plenary Session

Tuesday, 24 March 2015
08:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time)

For the first time, the OFC Plenary Session will be offered as a free live-stream, online event. You'll have the ability to view the three presentations as they occur — from the convenience of your home or office. Pre-registration is necessary to receive the live-stream link.

Presenters include Neal Bergano, TE Connectivity SubCom, speaking on how undersea fiber optic cables enable a connected world; Pradeep Sindhu, Juniper Networks, talking on the future of transport networks; and Kevin Slavin, MIT Media Lab, who addresses how algorithms shape our networked world.

Register for free access.

OSAF Light BLOX Volunteer Event

OSAF BLOX student and volunteer The OSA Foundation and OSA volunteers recently conducted an education outreach visit to the Washington, DC based organization, For the Love of Children (FLOC). OSA volunteer leaders introduced the IYL Light BLOX kit to a classroom of 50 students. Each student in attendance was given his or her own IYL kit. NASA and the Italian National Research Center (INRC) supported this program by sending speakers to work with the students: OSA National Capital Local Section members, Margaret Dominguez (NASA) and Kevin Miller (NASA), along with the 2015 Young Professional Award recipient, Antigone Marino (INRC.).

Image: Margaret Dominguez working with a student.

The OSA Foundation: Join the Light BLOX Challenge!

Did you hear? The OSA Foundation’s Light BLOX Challenge (LBC) was picked up by Yahoo Finance.

The LBC is The OSA Foundation’s way of celebrating the International Year of Light through youth science education. The OSA Foundation is providing these kits to students, educators and families around the world in 2015.

Each Light BLOX kit costs $35 USD and contains a range of activities and materials to introduce children, ages 8 and up, to the basic principles of light. Join the challenge today.

Expand Your Professional Network with the OSA Member Directory

As an OSA Member, you have exclusive access to an expansive global network through our searchable online member directory. Explore and connect with 19,000 members from 100 countries and take advantage of search capabilities including technical group, distinction and member type to expand your professional network. Note: You will be asked to login using your email address and password before accessing the directory.

Meet up with the Optical Cooling and Trapping Technical Group at OTA

If you are attending the Optical Trapping Applications topical meeting in Vancouver next month, you are invited to join members of the Optical Cooling and Trapping Technical Group for a gathering on Tuesday, 14 April 2015. Stop by the Cactus Club Café at 7:00 PM PDT for a chance to meet up with Giovanni Volpe, who serves on the OSA Board of Meetings, and other members of this technical group to network and learn more about the technical group’s activities.

Optical Communications Technical Group Meeting at OFC 2015

Join members of the Optical Communications Technical Group at OFC for a chance to learn more about volunteer opportunities and share ideas for upcoming events! Refreshments will be served at the meeting, which will take place on 25 March 2015 at 17:45 PDT in Room 504 of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Please RSVP for this event to hwalter@osa.org.

Apply for OSA Student Chapter and Local Section Activity and/or Education Grants

Deadline: 30 April 2015

Activity and Education Outreach Grant applications for events and activities planned to take place 1 July – 31 December 2015 are due 30 April 2015.

NEW in 2015: OSA is providing International Year of Light Education Outreach grants to support Student Chapter and Local Section outreach in developing local community events and activities to highlight the critical role that light plays in our daily lives. Student Chapters and Local Sections are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

If you have any questions about the guidelines or funding process, please send an email to: chaptersandsections@osa.org.

OSA Celebrates the International Year of Light 2015

OSA attendees at IYL OSA sponsored an IYL session at the 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting. The session was titled “Celebration of 2015: The International Year of Light” and was held on 13 February 2015. Speakers represented many sectors that are influenced by optics and photonics, including 2002 OSA President Anthony Johnson, Elizabeth Hillman, Columbia; Warren Warren, Duke; Uwe Bergmann, SLAC; OSA President-Elect Alan Willner, USC; and Christopher Stratas, Flextronics.

Frontiers in Optics: Call for Papers Open

18 – 22 October 2015
San Jose, California, USA
Submission Deadline: 25 May 2015

You are encouraged to submit a paper to the OSA Annual Meeting. There’s no better environment to present your work, with opportunities for direct feedback and networking with top players from around the world. Submit a paper, and play a role in your annual meeting.

Participate in the 15th International Myopia Research Conference

September 23 – 27, 2015
Wenzhou, P.R. China
Abstract Deadline: 1 June 2015

OSA members are invited to join the 15th International Myopia Research Conference (IMC), which will be held in association with The Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. This university and its hospital affiliate is one of the oldest Chinese Vision Science Research organization, has the largest eye research facilities in China, and occupies a leading position in Chinese optometry and ophthalmology.

Come to an OSA Reception at LASER World of Photonics Congress

Sunday, 21 June 2015
Munich, Germany
RSVP Deadline: 1 June 2015

Attending LASER World of Photonics Congress in Munich in June? Come to an OSA reception and celebrate the International Year of Light and the lead-up to OSA’s Centennial in 2016.

Respond by 1 June; send an email to RSVPOSAevent@osa.org.

Nominate a Team for the Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award

Deadline: 2 July 2015

OSA sponsors over 20 awards and medals that acknowledge a broad array of contributions and achievements in the optics and photonics community. To specifically recognize teams who have made major contributions in optical engineering, OSA presents the Team Engineering Excellence Award. Named in honor of Paul F. Forman, the award recognizes technical achievements such as product engineering, process and software development, and patent development, as well as contributions to society such as engineering education, publication and management, and furthering public appreciation of optical engineering.

Contact the OSA Awards Office for information and assistance in preparing a nomination, awards@osa.org or 1.202.416.1960.

Publications

In the March 2015 OPN: Scaling Fiber Networks, Chasing Gravity Waves, and More

March 2015 OPN This month in Optics & Photonics News, you’ll find feature articles on the challenges of keeping fiber communications on a sustainable growth track in a data-hungry society; a major upgrade for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory that could enable new science; the globalization of optics standards, and more—as well as a remembrance of Charles Hard Townes by his one-time grad student, former OSA President Elsa Garmire.

Check out the issue.

Announcing Redesigned Article Pages for JOSA A, JOSA B, and Applied Optics

OSA has redesigned the article layout for JOSA A, JOSA B and Applied Optics. The new look will give the article pages a cleaner, more modern appearance and will allow essential information such as author names to take prominence. Papers published in the new format will begin appearing in the 1 April issues of the journals.

Go to Optics InfoBase and view manuscript templates for the new format.

Intrigued by #thedress?

The dressCheck out some of the science behind the social media sensation. Since the mid-20th century, JOSA has proven to be an important source for research on the topic of color constancy. From empirical work (e.g., D.B Judd, JOSA 30, 2 (1940), H. Helson JOSA 33, 555 (1943), Arend & Reeves, JOSA A 3, 1743 (1986), or D.H. Brainard, JOSA A 15, p307 (1998)) to explicit computational models of color constancy, (e.g., Land & McCann, JOSA 61, 1 (1971), Maloney & Wandell, JOSA A 3, 29 (1986), D’Zmura & Iverson, JOSA A 10, 2148 (1993), Brainard & Freeman, JOSA A 14, 1393 (1997)), to numerous computational algorithms for extracting "true color" from digital media, researchers have regularly chosen JOSA A to communicate their results.

Visit our Author Resource Center to publish your own research on this viral phenomenon.

Photo Credit: Swiked

 

Photonics Research to Be Indexed in Web of Science

The Optical Society is pleased to announce that Photonics Research, OSA’s partner journal with Chinese Laser Press (CLP) and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), has been approved to be indexed in Thomson Reuters' Web of Science™. All articles dating back to the first issue should appear in the database soon, and the Journal should get its first Impact Factor this summer.

Learn more about Photonics Research.

Applied Optics Engineering and Laboratory Notes Now Online

Applied Optics (AO) now accepts a new type of article called Engineering and Laboratory Notes (E&L Notes) to give engineers and technicians a venue to highlight laboratory techniques and hands-on skills required for the design, analysis, fabrication, integration, alignment, and measurement of optical components and systems. Recently, AO has published several E&L Notes:

Want to publish an E&L Note? Submit your manuscript today! Or read this editorial by the E&L Notes Editor Brian Monacelli to learn more.

Industry

You're Invited — 2 Special Full-Day Events at OFC

OSA Industry Development Associates will be presenting two special all-day events at OFC this year. You are invited and encouraged to attend. Please note that a separate registration is required for both of these special events.

OSA Executive Forum
7:00-19:30, 23 March at OFC — separate registration required

This is the premier annual event for leaders in optical networking and communications. Meet executives from Facebook, Google, Ciena, CenturyLink, Microsoft and more. OSA Executive Forum is your exclusive opportunity to hear insider perspectives in an uncensored environment, while participating in high-level networking.

View speakers.
View the program.
Register now (special discounts are available to OSA Industry Development Associates Members).

OSA Photonics for Disaggregated Data Centers Workshop
7:30-19:00, 22 March at OFC — separate registration required

This full day workshop presents industry leaders from companies like Intel and Facebook discussing new opportunities for optics in disaggregated data centers. Attend and get a deep look at the potential for photonic devices and networks in disaggregated data center architectures. Understand this new direction in data center architecture: what it is, how it will develop going forward, and what it means for optical systems and components.

View speakers.
View the program.
Register now (special discounts are available to OSA Industry Development Associates Members).

Live & On-Demand Webinars

OSA Industry Development Associates Webinars connect you with subject experts and global thought leaders in management, business, and technology which are relevant to professionals in the optics and photonics community. These invaluable sessions will give you in-depth, timely, relevant, and actionable information on a variety of topics critical to your business and your career.

View on-demand webinars.

20 Free Job Postings Available on WORKinOPTICS.com, the Global Talent Hub for Optics & Photonics

The Optical Society's (OSA) online job board, WORKinOPTICS.com connects leading employers, qualified job and internship seekers and consultants within the optics and photonics community. Whether you're searching for a job, someone to fill a job, or exploring career options, WORKinOPTICS.com is a reliable global resource that can help you to make valuable connections in industry and academia.

OSA Industry Development Associates members get 20 free job postings and 50% off additional postings.
Post your resume at no charge.
Check out the online job fair if you’re attending OFC.

Meetings

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OSA Journals

Recently Published Special Issues

Call for Papers

OSA Journals in the News

Bending light with a quadrupole magnetic field induced into an edge-lit Ferrocell.
Michael M. Snyder, University of Louisville, USA
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