WA-SPIE

An action-packed video styled as a blockbuster-movie trailer provides the linchpin for this year’s International Day of Light (IDL) campaign, “Our future is light. Play your part.” Released today, Day of Light features diverse characters successfully solving global-level problems using photonics-enabled technologies.

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Three professional societies – SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics , IEEE Photonics Society , and Optica, Advancing Optics & Photonics Worldwide – partnered to create the video and the accompanying 2022 IDL campaign. “Our future is light. Play your part” promotes the importance of light-based technologies and interesting careers in optics and photonics, while raising awareness of the annual IDL celebration on 16 May. From technologies that improve vision and power smartphones to those that provide tools to study Earth and Space, from healthcare to communications at the speed of light, photonics is the key enabling technology of a brighter future.

The video, its look and feel inspired by the 2010 science-fiction thriller Inception, features Dawn, an optical-engineer action hero, who is busy saving the world with light-based technologies such as prisms, solar panels, spectral imaging, lasers, and lidar. The video also issues a lively invitation to real-life future scientists, technicians, engineers, and industry leaders: consider a career in photonics.

In conjunction with the video’s release, the related website includes an overview of the technologies mentioned in the film; depictions of professionals working in the field of optics and photonics, from optical engineers and laser technicians to academic researchers; and a selection of downloadable resources for education and careers.

“Many of the devices we use every day are comprised of light-based technologies made possible by the optics and photonics community,” said Optica CEO Elizabeth Rogan . “On the International Day of Light, we celebrate these contributions from our community and hope this celebration inspires others – particularly students – to study and work in light science and technology.”

“The International Day of Light is the perfect time to highlight the many varied and exciting career opportunities in optics and photonics,” noted SPIE CEO Kent Rochford . “Light-based technologies are providing much-needed solutions to some of our biggest global challenges and will continue to do so. This is a terrific time to be considering a career in the industry and we hope this year’s IDL campaign will reach and inspire future scientists, engineers, and technicians.”

"Each International Day of Light, we celebrate the long and rich history of optics and photonics that has brought so much to our everyday lives," said IEEE Photonics Society Executive Director Doug Razzano . "By continuing to advance light science and make known to the world the importance of the technologies derived from it, we will help to grow and support this vibrant technical community."

About the International Day of Light

The International Day of Light (IDL), celebrated annually on 16 May, is a global initiative highlighting the central role that light and light-based technologies play across science, culture, education, and sustainable development, in areas as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. The 16 May date honors the anniversary of the first successful demonstration of a laser by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman in 1960; the broad theme of light allows many different sectors of society worldwide to participate in activities that demonstrate how science, technology, and art, can help achieve the goals of UNESCO – education, equality, and peace. lightday.org.

About IEEE Photonics Society

The IEEE Photonics Society is the professional home for a global network of scientists, engineers and allied professionals who represent the laser, optoelectronics, and photonics community. As a Technical Society of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, the IEEE Photonics Society inspires community through highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. www.photonicssociety.org .

About Optica

Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, is the society dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students and others interested in the science of light. Optica’s renowned publications, meetings, online resources and in-person activities fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate scientific, technical and educational achievement. Learn more at optica.org .

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $22 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org .

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