International Day of Light
In science, culture, art, medicine, communications and sustainable development, light makes an impact.
Each year on 16 May, we celebrate the International Day of Light.
As a global society, we recognize the many ways light and our community play a role in science, culture, medicine, communications and sustainable development.
For the 2026 International Day of Light, we are celebrating the incredible Optica Members around the world working for a brighter future through broadening access to education and information, deep space exploration, creating medical technologies, contributing to art, pushing the frontiers of quantum, fusion energy and everything in between.
Support the future of optics and photonics.
Butterfly-inspired films create vibrant colors while passively cooling objects
From a very early stage, I was fascinated by simple but profound questions—why shadows form and how images are created by light. That curiosity naturally led me to study optics.
KAIST
Using lasers to paint
Ignition accomplished, NIF looks to the future
By exploring beyond what we are teaching you today, you can break ground that nobody could have imagined possible today.
Washington University in St Louis, USA
I always got the impression there was something very special about these scientists beyond what they were teaching us.
Institute of Technical Physics at the German Aerospace Center
Optics grows in Kenya
James Webb Space Telescope: A Sparkling Optical Success
Rainbow Galaxy Cube
Real-World Focus at the Photon Factory
Be proactive in seeking opportunities, even those that feel slightly beyond your comfort zone. Leadership is learned through experience—by contributing, listening and building trust.
Be proactive in seeking opportunities, even those that feel slightly beyond your comfort zone. Leadership is learned through experience—by contributing, listening and building trust.
Carleton University
