February 2025 Issue
Feature Articles
Generating and Detecting Deepfakes: A 21st-Century Arms Race
As AI tools get better at creating realistic images and videos, scientists are racing to develop countermeasures to spot the fakes.
by Patricia Daukantas
Finding the Right Ph.D. Advisor
You already know the science, but there’s also an art to selecting a Ph.D. supervisor who is the best fit for you.
by Nathaniel Kinsey, Christian Haffner, Kartik Srinivasan, Amit Agrawal and Justus Ndukaife
Preserving Optics Heritage at the University of Franche-Comté
An effort to safeguard the legacy of optics includes a museum of historical instruments, some dating to 1845.
by John M. Dudley, Luc Froehly, Jerome Salvi, Pierre Verschueren and Maxime JacquotDepartments and Columns
Resonant time crystals hit the spot / Illuminating black holes / How to recycle the tiniest lasers / Infrared spectroscopy on-chip / Laser light casts a shadow / Diffractive robots set the pace in microscale optics / Industry news
A look at key milestones in the development of quantum mechanics as UNESCO kicks off the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology.
Adventures in Technical Marketing
A background in optical engineering can lead to many and varied paths, including in advertising, sales and outreach.
Lippmann's Unfading Photographs
A technique leverages interference to create vibrant, stable color pictures—but never hit the mainstream.
Also in this Issue
It’s important that we make a concerted effort to communicate the impact of quantum science and technology to a variety of audiences.
30, 20 and 10 Years Ago in OPN
Lightwave communications; astronomical origins; augmented reality.
Industry meeting: lidar / Industry tutorial: deformable mirrors / ANZCOP 2024 / Technical group leaders / Spotlight on British and Irish optics / Suzuki wins Tyndall Award / Career accelerator in Europe / Student presentation prizes / Thank you, editors and meeting hosts
A CD has the effect of a diffraction grating on candlelight, separating its constituent colors.
![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)
