In this issue: Apply for OSA Senior Member Designation, Sign Up for Auto-Renew, OPN: Optics in 2017, Meetings, Opportunities and more...
 

OSA News
OSA Awards
OSA Opportunities
Industry
OSA Publishing News
Meetings Calendar and Deadlines

OSA NEWS

Guo Receives $1.5 Million USD Grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

OSA Member Chunlei Guo, a professor with the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics USA, was recently awarded a $1.5 million USD grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Guo is developing alternative sanitation systems to address the problems associated with the lack of clean water. With this funding, he and his team will partner with the China-based Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Metals, and Physics (CIOMP) to develop a prototype system that they will deploy and field-test in an African community. The system will include a modular fecal-phobic treated plastic drop hole liner with trap door and solid waste, wet waste, rain water, and cooling systems that use Guo's superhydrophobic technology, which can actually self-clean.

"Our system will provide a sanitary experience while being cost-effective and easy to install and will not require external energy or sewage systems," Guo added. "It is my hope that we can create a real-world application to waste management systems in developing countries."

Guo was awarded his first $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2011 to develop sanitation technology with extremely water-repellent, or superhydrophobic, materials. He received similar grants of $100,000 USD and $400,000 USD from the foundation in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The 2017 grant is the largest Gates Foundation grant awarded to the University.

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Join Us at The 21st Ultrafast Phenomena Conference  

15 - 20 July 2018
Grand Elys�e Hotel, Hamburg, Germany.

The Ultrafast Phenomena Conferences held every two years started in 1976 and is widely recognized as the premier and main international forum for gathering the community of scientists and engineers working in research and technology related to ultrafast phenomena. It is indeed a unique opportunity to bring together atomic, molecular and condensed matter physicists, physical chemists, biophysicists and scientists developing new tools, methodologies and techniques, all working on the science of ultrafast phenomena. The meeting is organized by the European Physical Society (EPS) in cooperation with OSA.

Summary and Abstract Deadline: January 26, 2018.
Authors wishing to submit are requested to proceed online here.

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Sign Up for The Automatic Renewal Option 

Signing up for auto renewal is easy, convenient and saves you time. It also ensures your access to exclusive member benefits, services and subscriptions will not be interrupted. Once enrolled, your membership will automatically renew before your current membership expires.*

Ensure your access to exclusive member benefits and subscriptions will not be interrupted.

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*This option does not apply for Student and Emeritus members.

OSA Foundation and Go!Foton Celebrate
World Science Day

In recognition of UNESCO's World Science Day, The OSA Foundation (OSAF) and Go!Foton partnered to distribute 550 Explore Optics Kits to 270 OSA Members in 40 countries. OSA Foundation's original goal was to provide 200 kits to interested members. Thanks to a generous gift from Go!Foton, OSAF was able to provide a kit to everyone who requested one.

The Explore Optics Kit is an innovative, interactive package designed to introduce young students to the dynamic and exciting properties of light. Laser Classroom upgraded the kits to include three Light Blox LEDs which are sturdy and designed just for the classroom. These lights are perfect for mixing up colors of light (yellow, magenta and cyan) and pure white light.

The OSA Foundation is always interested in partnering with OIDA members on programs. If you would like to explore opportunities please contact Chad Stark, OSAF Executive Director at 202.419.1416 or Cstark@osa.org. 

OSA AWARDS

OSA OPPORTUNITIES

Unique Career Opportunity - OSA Congressional Science Policy Fellowships       

Application Deadline: 5 January 2018

Combine your interest in policy with your science background and apply for the 2018-2019 OSA Congressional Science Policy Fellowships. Congressional Fellows spend one year on Capitol Hill working as legislative assistants on the staff of a member of U.S. Congress or Congressional Committee. Applicants must have a Ph.D. by the start of the fellowship,
1 September 2018, to be eligible. Mid and late-career applicants are also encouraged to apply. In addition to being a great opportunity for young professionals, it is also an ideal way to spend an academic sabbatical or leave of absence from a company. To learn more about eligibility and application requirements, visit the Congressional Fellowship webpage.

INDUSTRY

Plan Your 2018 Strategy with Industry Reports Available to OIDA Members

Industry leaders worldwide are planning their strategy for 2018 and beyond and a winning strategy is driven by intelligence. Have you downloaded our newest industry reports yet?

Reports cover areas such as:

� Optical communications
� Medical point-of-care technologies
� The augmented reality/virtual reality marketplace
� The LIDAR market
� Mobile depth imaging
� Solid-state lighting
� Biophotonics
� 3D imaging
� Infared imaging
� Adaptive optics
� Integrated photonics and more!

All OSA Industry Development Associates members have free access to all reports. We encourage you to browse the Publication Library to see everything available to you.

Congratulations to OIDA Member DoubleHelix

DoubleHelix has been selected as one of the 10 winners of the Luminate 2017 Competition. The CEO of DoubleHelix, Leslie Kimerling, was at OSA headquarters on 14 November for the 3rd Annual OIDA Funding Accelerator Meetings focused on SBIR/STTR. Here is a short video from Ms. Kimerling.

The Talent Gap in Illumination Optics

Illumination is one of the oldest optics applications and is as innovative and challenging as it has ever been. There is nonetheless a shortfall of experienced design talent. It's a chicken-egg problem: companies don't share trade secrets, but the lack of shared knowledge makes hiring challenging. This was one of the topics discussed at a recent Optical Society Incubator meeting on illumination optics, held 15-17 November at OSA headquarters in Washington DC.

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What Does AI Have to Do with Optics and Photonics?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in Silicon Valley, and for good reason. Affordable access to computing power, particularly to warehouse-scale data centers, along with new computing methods such as deep learning, opens the field dramatically. You are using new deep learning AI when you use Google or Facebook language translations, or image labelling. There is no general-purpose AI platform: there are many approaches to AI, each with its own features and weaknesses. The approach must be matched to the application. Deep learning emerged in the last few years as a powerful approach for many new applications. It is a subset of machine learning, itself just one type of AI (see figure).

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It's a Wrap! 3rd Annual OIDA Funding Accelerator Speed Meetings Focused on SBIR/STTR Funding 

OIDA is committed to fostering the development and commercialization of new optics and photonics technologies that will expand the industry's product pipeline, and to offering OIDA members the opportunity to get the funding they need. We brought OIDA member companies with less than 500 employees together with top U.S. federal agencies for one-on-one meetings and presentations at OSA headquarters on 14 November. Companies had the opportunity to discuss their innovations and business model with this exclusive audience, and got an insider perspective on what specific agencies are looking to fund. The event helped government agencies better understand what our Industry can offer and how optics and photonics technologies can help them meet their goals.

Thank you to the participating agencies: Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), NASA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Navy. And thank you to these participating OIDA member companies: Double Helix, Endeavour Laser Technologies Inc., New Scale Technolgies, Optimax, OSP, Syntec Optics, Sun Optical Systems, Vermont Photonics Technologies Corp. and Vescent Photonics.

OSA PUBLISHING NEWS

Credit: Michael Kues/UOP Group

OSA Journals
 

Updated policy on conference papers in OSA Journals

The OSA Board of Editors has recently updated its policy on consideration of conference papers in OSA Journals.To foster the development of work in progress and to support the dissemination of results in an archival publication, OSA encourages manuscripts based partly or entirely on work presented at conferences to be submitted to an OSA Journal.

Nominations for Editor-in-Chief of Optics Express 

The OSA Board of Editors welcomes nominations for the position of Editor-in-Chief of Optics Express, with a three-year term to begin 1 January 2019. View the full Announcement for more information about the required qualifications and nomination process.

OSA Publishing News

Applied Optics 
Innovative System for Monitoring Plant Health Through Fluorescence Imaging - AzoOptics

Biomedical Optics Express

New Microscope Set to Transform Imaging of Brain Activity - Technology Networks
New Microscope Optimized to Perform Studies Using Optogenetic Methods - AZoOptics
Source Article:  An ultrawidefield microscope for high-speed fluorescence imaging and targeted optogenetic stimulation 

Handheld Spectrometer Wirelessly Transmits Data to Smartphone - Photonics.com
Wireless spectrometer sends real-time images to smartphones - Clinical Innovation + Technology
Source Article: Pencil-like imaging spectrometer for bio-samples sensing

Photonic cloth to fight jaundice in newborns - LaserFocus World
Illuminated pajamas treat newborns for jaundice - Science Daily
Source Article:  POF-yarn weaves: controlling the light out-coupling of wearable phototherapy devices 

Optica

Researchers Break Fundamental Barrier of Photoacoustic Imaging: Can View Capillaries at Super Resolution - MedGadget
Photoacoustic imaging with super-resolution - MedicalPhysicsWeb
Source Article: Super-resolution photoacoustic imaging via flow-induced absorption fluctuations

Deep learning method could improve optical microscopy - BioOptics World
UCLA engineers use deep learning to reconstruct holograms and improve optical microscopy - Phys.org
Source Article: Deep learning microscopy

Seeing Through Walls of Unknown Materials - Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering
Seeing through walls of unknown materials  - Science Daily
Source Article: Sparse blind deconvolution for imaging through layered media

Optics Express

A New "Star Trek-Like Tractor Beam" Moves Objects With Light - Futurism.com
Cost-Effective Electronics Mass Production, with a Hint of 'Star Trek' - Electronics360
Source Article: Manufacturing with light - micro-assembly of opto-electronic microstructures 

Recently Published Special Issues

Applied Optics
Near- to mid-IR (1-13 �m) III-V Semiconductor Lasers

Biomedical Optics Express
Biophotonics

Optics Express
Recent Advances in Astrophotonics

Call for Papers

Applied Optics
Feature Issue: Advanced Infrared Technology and Applications (AITA) 
Submission Deadline: 15 January 2018

Journal of Optical Communications and Networking
Feature Issue: Special Issue on Optical Data Center Networks
Submission Deadline: 8 January 2018

Feature Issue: Special Issue on Machine Learning and Data Analytics for Optical Communications and Networking
Submission Deadline: 20 February 2018

Optical Materials Express
Feature Issue: Mid-Infrared Optical Materials and their Device Applications
Submission Opens: 1 January 2018; Submission Deadline: 1 February 2018

Optics Express
Feature Issue: Energy Express: Light, Energy and the Environment 2017
Submission Deadline: 15 January 2018

Feature Issue: Physics and Applications of Laser Dynamics
Submission Opens: 1 February 2018; Submission Deadline: 1 March 2018

MEETINGS CALENDAR AND DEADLINES

OFC
11 - 15 March 2018, San Diego, California, USA

Advance Registration Deadline: 12 February 2018

CLEO
13 - 18 May 2018, San Jose, California, USA

Abstract and Summary Submission Deadline Extended: 5 January 2018
 

2018 OIDA Executive Forum
12 March 2018, San Diego, California, USA

Advance Registration Deadline: 12 February 2018

OSA High-brightness Sources and Light-driven Interactions Congress
26 - 28 March 2018, Strasbourg, France

Advance Registration Deadline: 26 February 2018

Collocated Topical Meetings:

High-intensity Lasers and High-field Phenomena
Mid-infrared Coherence Sources
Compact (EUV & X-ray) Light Sources

OSA Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics
3 - 6 April 2018, Hollywood, Florida, USA

Advance Registration Deadline: 5 March 2018

Collocated Topical Meetings:

Clinical and Translational Biophotonics
Microscopy, Histopathology and Analytics
Optics and the Brain
Optical Tomography and Spectroscopy

OSA Imaging and Applied Optics
25 - 28 June 2018, Orlando, Florida, USA

Abstract and Summary Submission Deadline: 24 January 2018

Collocated Topical Meetings:

3-D Image Acquisition and Display: Technology, Perception and Applications
Adaptive Optics: Methods, Analysis and Applications
Application of Lasers for Sensing & Free Space Communication
Applied Industrial Optics
Computational Optical Sensing and Imaging
Digital Holography & 3-D Imaging
Imaging Systems and Applications
Laser Applications to Chemical, Security and Environmental Analysis
Mathematics in Imaging
Propagation Through and Characterization of Atmospheric and Oceanic Phenomena

OSA Advanced Photonics Congress
2 - 5 July 2018, Z�rich, Switzerland

Abstract and Summary Submission Deadline: 20 February 2018

Collocated Topical Meetings:

Bragg Gratings, Photosensitivity and Poling in Glass Waveguides & Materials
Integrated Photonics Research, Silicon, and Nano-Photonics
Nonlinear Photonics
Novel Optical Materials and Applications
Optical Sensors
Photonic Networks and Devices
Signal Processing in Photonic Communications
Specialty Optical Fibers