July/August 2021 Issue
Feature Articles
Bolstered by machine learning and codesign techniques, mask-based lensless imaging offers a route to ultrathin multispectral cameras, novel microscope designs and more.
by Nick Antipa
Tunable Metasurfaces: Controlling Light in Space and Time
Active control of optical properties could take metasurface applications to the next level.
by Soham Saha, Deesha Shah, Vladimir M. Shalaev and Alexandra Boltasseva
Toward Lighter, Thinner AR/VR Systems
Liquid-crystal polarization holograms promise to transform head-mounted displays.
by Lu Lu, Taha Masood and Barry SilversteinDepartments and Columns
Record laser intensity / Measuring viscosity / Holograms for automotive AR / Light’s shape influences vision / Chameleon hydrogels / First ELT laser / Silicon photonics market / Deep learning and microscopy / “Human-friendly” LEDs
A recent McKinsey Global Institute report explored COVID-19’s impact on the future of work in eight economies, looking at both trends in place before the pandemic and changes that it has accelerated. For STEM—unlike some sectors—the report found that the pandemic had boosted pre-COVID trends already favoring workforce expansion. But the study also concluded that the pandemic has increased the percent of workers in the broader economy likely to be displaced by automation.
Active committee work can open doors and create positive first impressions for early-career scientists.
Imaging’s Multiple Market Paths
What’s driving business growth for consumer, military and medical imaging tech.
From wartime optics to vision correction, early freeform surfaces left rotational symmetry behind in pursuit of additional degrees of freedom.
Also in this Issue
30, 20, and 10 Years Ago in OPN
Ocean optics; lighting technology; optogenetics.
2021 OSA Ambassadors / Co-publication of Discovering Light / Congratulations, José Capmany and Sir David Payne / 2021 CLEO recap / OSA Fellow stories / Remembering Martin Shenker / Videos from OIDA Technology Showcase / Thanks, editors and volunteers
![Manual probe system with needles for test of semiconductor on silicon wafer. [A. Morozov / Getty]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2025/1125/departments/202511-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
![Researcher Clara Saraceno in the lab. [Image by Carsten Behler Photography]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2025/1025/departments/202510-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
