Advance Your Skills, Advance Your Career At SPIE Photonics West

By John Oncea, Editor

SPIE Photonics West 2024 – the world’s largest photonics technologies event – takes place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from January 27 to February 1. Come and network with over 20,000 researchers, innovators, engineers, and business leaders from across the globe for an engaging week of research sharing, collaboration forming, and innovation-inspiring exchanges.

Jennifer Barton is Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona (go Wildcats!), as well as Director of the BIO5 Institute, and Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering.

Barton develops miniature endoscopes that combine multiple optical imaging techniques, particularly optical coherence tomography and fluorescence spectroscopy. She evaluates the suitability of these endoscopic techniques for detecting early cancer development in patients and preclinical models and has a particular interest in the early detection of ovarian cancer, the deadliest gynecological malignancy.

And if that’s not enough, Barton is beginning her term as SPIE President, a Society she calls “an international organization full of diverse and generous researchers, engineers, businesspeople, and students, all making the world better with light.”

One of the first events Barton will preside over is SPIE Photonics West 2024, the world’s premier event for lasers, biomedical optics and biophotonic technologies, quantum, and optoelectronics. In her first President’s letter, Barton writes, “SPIE Photonics West, the Society’s flagship event, is perhaps the best example of the international scope of the photonics industry, with more than 22,000 attendees coming to San Francisco from around the world.

“The exhibition has companies representing more than 50 countries, including 12 international pavilions where companies from a country or region are clustered to showcase the collective strength of a locale’s photonics industry.”

Let’s take a look at SPIE Photonics West, and let’s do it quickly – before Barton adds another line to her resume!

29 Years In The Making

Photonics West debuted in San Jose, CA in 1995, co-located with the SPIE/IS&T Electronic Imaging Event. This year’s event will take place January 27 – February 1 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco and will include more than 4,500 technical presentations, as well as four key application topics: BiOS, LASE, OPTO, and Quantum.

• BiOS will highlight new biophotonics, biomedical optics, and imaging research for diagnostics and therapeutics.
• LASE will focus on the laser industry and its diverse applications.
• OPTO will cover optoelectronics, photonic materials, and optical devices.
• Quantum West, now in its third year, will feature quantum 2.0 technologies from quantum sensing and information systems to quantum-enabled materials and devices and quantum biology. It also will include a Quantum West Business Summit highlighting the work of moving quantum technologies to market.

The event’s exhibition, running from January 30 – February 1, will showcase over 1,200 companies in three focused exhibitions. These companies will launch products, perform live demonstrations, and display innovative technologies. “The demand for exhibition space at Photonics West is always a great indicator of the health of our industry, and this year, we've responded to increased demand by expanding the footprint 15% over last year’s and expect to sell out once again,” said SPIE Global Exhibition Services Director Bonnie Peterson. “We’re excited to welcome returning and new companies and look forward to offering our exhibitor community an engaging platform for their technologies, applications, and market-ready systems and components.”

This year’s event features the inaugural Quantum West Expo from January 30 – 31 which promises to showcase worldwide providers of the latest quantum technologies. The BiOS Expo — featuring new and transformative technologies in biomedical optics and healthcare applications — runs January 27 – 28 January, while the Photonics West Exhibition, January 30 – February 1, encompasses the latest from laser manufacturers and suppliers as well as other innovative optics and photonics devices, components, systems, and services.

In addition, the industry program also returns with a renewed focus on the markets and applications shaping the photonics industry. All three exhibitions and the industry program are free to attend with a SPIE Photonics West registration.

Learn From The Best

From the SPIE BiOS Hot Topics and conference plenary sessions to the Prism Awards and the SPIE Startup Challenge, you’ll have a front-row seat to the hearing about the latest innovative research breakthroughs from speakers including Lingyan Shi, University of California, San Diego; Giuliano Scarcelli, University of Maryland; Paul Beard, University College London; Ben Vakoc, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Philip Tinnefeld, LMU-Munich; Charles Lin, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Systems Biology; Ryan Field, Kernel; Michelle Digman, University of California, Irvine; Jun Ye, JILA; Stephanie Simmons, Photonic; Marlan Scully, Texas A&M; Paul Prucnal, Princeton University; Åsa Haglund, Chalmers; Roel Baets, Ghent University/imec; Ahmed Diallo, ARPA-E; Akira Furusawa, University of Tokyo and RIKEN; Laura Na Liu, University of Stuttgart; Siddharth Ramachandran, Boston University; Bruce Tromberg, NIH; R. Rox Anderson, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Griff Harsh, University of California, Davis; Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater; Cynthia Toth, Duke University; and Eric Henderson, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Photonics West is hosting 57 technical courses, which include the popular Quantum Computing: A Concise Introduction, and eight new courses focusing on topics like inverse design for photonics, trends in miniature camera technology, photoacoustic imaging, and optical design for AR/VR/MR technologies. This educational program is designed to complement various professional development workshops, a comprehensive job fair, and networking opportunities for technical attendees, SPIE Members, and exhibitors.

The SPIE AR | VR | MR event is a three-day program that focuses on the development of hardware and headsets for augmented, virtual, and mixed reality while highlighting the important role that optics and photonics play in this field. The program features over 30 invited industry talks, keynotes, and panels with speakers from companies such as META, Oppo, XREAL, and Magic Leap. The event is open to those who opt for full conference registration and includes a two-day exhibition and a headset museum displaying over 100 headsets from the late 1980s to the present day.

Finally, SPIE is introducing the Global Business Forum, a one-day informational and networking opportunity held on January 29. The event will focus on current and emerging trends across the international optics and photonics industry and markets, featuring insights from Tematys’ Thierry Robin, Yole Group’s Jean-Christophe Eloy, BOS Photonics’ Bo Gu; and Harlin’s John Lincoln, among others. Registration for the Global Business Forum is separate from Photonics West and will be available via the event website.

“Photonics West 2024 promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking week of networking and learning opportunities,” said SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. “We are particularly excited to be expanding our Quantum West programming, including the addition of a quantum-focused exhibit.

“As the first major community gathering of the year, we continue to bring together a unique nexus of industry leaders and highly regarded researchers whose collaborations drive products, innovation, and technical breakthroughs. We expect an increase from last year’s 22,000 registered attendees and invite you to join the global photonics community and experience all that Photonics West 2024 has to offer.”