SPIE Defense + Security Symposium Announced For 5-9 May In Baltimore

Advances in sensors, lasers, thermal imaging, optical engineering, data analysis and cybersecurity will be presented at annual conference

SPIE Defense + Security (SPIE DS), with its D.C.-area location and community-wide participation, is gearing up for another robust year in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2014. Two new conferences will be added to an already wide-ranging program, and a 500-company exhibition will showcase suppliers of optics, lasers, sensors, image processing, spectroscopy, infrared systems and much more.

Event dates are 5-9 May at the Baltimore Convention Center. Abstracts are being accepted through 21 October. Attendees will have access to 2,300 technical presentations in 32 SPIE DS conferences and 27 more in the co-located SPIE Sensing Technologies + Applications (SPIE STA) symposium.

This year's new conferences at SPIE DS -- Spectral Imaging Sensor Technologies, and Sensors for Extreme Harsh Environments -- help illustrate why the event has become important for government, academic and industry researchers and engineers, organizers noted.

"Today's innovation imperative is one vital reason to join us," said symposium chair David Whelan, Vice President, Strategic Innovation, Phantom Works, Boeing Defense, Space, and Security. "SPIE Defense + Security is where new ideas, technology and customers are."

Defense + Security co-chair Nils Sandell, Director of DARPA's Strategic Technology Office, noted the event's value in helping to manage the costs of innovation in the face of tight funding.

"In an environment of increasing budget constraints, new technologies can provide affordable solutions to critical defense and security problems," Sandell said. "With its comprehensive technology coverage, this is a must-attend event for engineers and program managers seeking to successfully navigate this challenging environment."

SPIE DSS continues to be acknowledged as a highly effective and efficient forum enabling mission-critical interactions between government scientist and engineers with their colleagues in industry and academia, noted Andrew Brown, SPIE Senior Director for Global Business Development.

"Bringing all the players together to share ideas, needs and opportunities is a vital force in advancing progress and avoiding an innovation deficit," Brown said. "These are technologies that provide first-responders with clear information in crises, help soldiers avoid harm in the battlefield and protect internet-based commerce and communication around the world."

Augustus Way Fountain, senior research scientist for chemistry at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and chair of the conference on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing, pointed out the broad cross-disciplinary applications of the meeting's technologies.

"Recent events are a stark reminder that the use of chemical weapons remains a very real threat. Reliable technologies to detect the full spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive materials are needed not only by the military, but by diverse sectors from law enforcement to the food processing industry," Fountain said.

Conference chairs Bjørn Andresen of Acktar Ltd. and Gabor Fulop of Maxtech International stressed the relevance of the DS event to challenges facing the community.

"The Infrared Technology and Applications conference addresses the needs of the armed forces and homeland security communities for infrared systems having better performance, lower size, weight, electric power requirement and cost," Andresen said. "These demands will be answered by presentations outlining developments in new infrared detectors, optical materials and designs, cryogenic coolers, and smart signal processing and their use in infrared systems."

The DSS Expo is the East Coast's largest for precision optics, lasers, sensors, optical materials, thermal imaging, optoelectronics, instrumentation, data analysis and related applications, connecting government, academic and industry researchers and developers with 500 companies supplying the field with the latest systems, applications and devices.

Training opportunities include a full suite of professional development courses on topics including infrared sensors and systems, optical and optomechanical engineering, imaging and sensing and laser sensors and systems.

Accepted papers will be published in the SPIE Digital Library as soon as approved after the event, and in print volumes and digital collections .

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves more than 235,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided over $3.2M in support of education and outreach programs in 2012.