In Memoriam: William T. Rhodes

OPN and Optica mourn the loss of Optica Fellow William “Bill” Rhodes, who passed away in June. Rhodes was known for his work in optical signal and information processing and for his lasting impact on the optics program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, where he was a Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also served two terms on the Optica Board of Directors and was the Editor-in-Chief of Applied Optics.

Rhodes’ research interests included image formation, partially coherent optical systems, Fourier optics, information processing and telecommunications, and secure communication technology. Rhodes mentored countless graduate students and had a lasting impact on the optics field through his time at the Georgia Institute of Technology, his later tenure at Florida Atlantic University, and his many international appointments and collaborations.

Joseph Eberly Honored at Quantum 2.0

On 18 June at the Quantum 2.0 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, Optica held a special memorial session for 2007 Optica President and quantum optics pioneer Joseph Eberly, who passed away in 2025. Organized by Mike Raymer, University of Oregon, USA, and Nicholas Bigelow, University of Rochester, USA, the symposium brought together a group of Eberly’s senior colleagues to reflect on the enduring legacy of his work—and his impact on them personally—and share some of their recent research. Speakers included Misha Ivanov, Max Born Institute, Germany; Andrew Jordan, Chapman University, USA; 2004 Optica President Peter Knight, Imperial College London, UK; 2024 Optica President Gerd Leuchs, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany; and Elisabeth Giacobino, Sorbonne Université, France.

Murnane Named Honorary Member

Optica has named Margaret M. Murnane, University of Colorado Boulder, USA, an Honorary Member—the most distinguished of all of the society’s Member categories. She is recognized for pioneering advances in ultrafast laser technology and XUV science, as well as exceptional service to the optics community through sustained mentorship and leadership.

Murnane has been an international leader in the field of ultrafast optical and X-ray science for more than 25 years, pioneering the development of ultrashort-pulse femtosecond lasers, the development of methods for efficiently generating soft X-ray high-harmonics and the use of these X-rays to probe the attosecond time-scale response of atoms, molecules and surfaces. “Margaret is a global leader in ultrafast, high-intensity laser research, but her impact extends far beyond the lab through her mentorship, volunteerism and innovative work with KMLabs,” said Optica President Gisele Bennett. “It is with great pleasure that I welcome her into the esteemed group of Optica Honorary Members.”

Kafka Visits Cal Poly

2025 Optica President James Kafka, Spectra-Physics MKS, USA, visited Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, USA, on 28 May at the invitation of 2019 Optica Ambassador and Cal Poly professor Isinsu Baylam Toker. Kafka spoke with students about lasers and his work at MKS and Optica, and then he had dinner with the officers of the Cal Poly Optica Student Chapter.

Bennett at CIFI-SEMA 2026

Optica President Gisele Bennett virtually attended the International Conference on Physical Sciences, Sensors and Environment (CIFI-SEMA) 2026 from 27 to 29 May in Barranquilla, Colombia. She gave a plenary talk entitled “IoT everywhere: An overview of sensors, applications, and the importance of standards.”

Bennett also took the opportunity to attend a virtual meeting with student chapter leaders from universities across Colombia. The students presented a rich and diverse range of chapter activities, including networking events, national and international conference participation, local school outreach, science education for marginalized communities and workshops for people with disabilities. Students noted that the gathering was valuable for connecting with peers across other chapters and expressed appreciation for the travel support provided. They hope to convene again at the Optica Latin America Optics and Photonics Conference (LAOP), to be held this November in Bogotá.

Edmund Optics Receives 2026 Private Company Boards of the Year Award

Edmund Optics, a global manufacturer and supplier of optics, imaging and photonics technologies, was honored with a 2026 Private Company Boards of the Year Award by MLR Media, an authority on corporate governance, board leadership and family business. The Private Company Boards of the Year Awards recognize boards that demonstrate exceptional governance, strategic oversight and leadership while helping position their organizations for long-term success.

“We are deeply honored to receive this recognition and grateful to MLR Media and the distinguished judging panel for acknowledging the work of our Board,” said Marisa Edmund, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Edmund Optics. “Our Board provides invaluable guidance, challenges our thinking, and helps ensure we remain focused on creating sustainable long-term value. Their support and expertise have played a significant role in the continued growth and evolution of our company.”

In Memoriam: Johannes Schwider

Johannes Schwider, a researcher whose career spanned more than six decades of optical metrology and an Optica member for 30 years, passed away in May. After studying physics at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, he began his scientific career in January 1962 at the Institute for Optics and Spectroscopy of the Academy of Sciences in East Berlin.

In 1987, Johannes contacted Adolf W. Lohmann at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and received an academic position there heading a research group on optical measurement and optical design, working on interferometric surface metrology with sub-nanometer sensitivity until well after his official retirement. His outstanding optics research helped greatly to establish the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light at Erlangen, and he was associated with the Institute since its founding. OPN and Optica mourn his loss.

In Memoriam: Young-Kai (Y.K.) Chen

Optica Fellow Young-Kai (Y.K.) Chen, Coherent Corp., USA, passed away in May. Born in Taiwan, Chen received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1988 and went on to work at Bell Laboratories for nearly three decades. From 2017 to 2021 he served as a program manager at DARPA, before joining Coherent Corp. (then II-VI Inc.) in 2022.

OPN and Optica mourn the loss of this respected scientist and technical leader. Chen’s legacy will live on through his contributions to optical communications, wireless networking and advanced semiconductor technologies, as well as his many friends and colleagues.

Srinivasan Appointed Optica Quantum Editor-in-Chief

Kartik Srinivasan, University of Maryland, USA, has been appointed the new editor-in-chief of Optica Quantum. He is widely recognized for research on integrated quantum photonics, nonlinear nanophotonics and photonic crystals, with applications in quantum communications, sensing and metrology. “It has been a privilege to help develop this Journal from the beginning and I am proud of the success it has achieved so far,” said Srinivasan. “I am honored to continue working with an exceptional editorial board and support team to serve our community.”

Nie Honored at ImageSense Congress

2026 Kevin P. Thompson Optical Design Innovator Award winner Yunfeng Nie, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, was honored during the ImageSense Congress Plenary Session in Maastricht, Netherlands, on 16 July. Nie was recognized for advancing optical design methodology through AI-driven freeform optimization and differentiable modeling, establishing end-to-end learning frameworks that redefine how high-performance freeform imaging systems are conceived and realized.

Optica Technical Group Prizes

Optica technical groups bring together members from around the globe to help foster lasting, valuable connections. Each year, more than 200 Optica members volunteer their time to organize a wide range of activities to bring their communities closer together. In 2020, the Board of Meetings established several prizes to recognize the outstanding work being done by our technical group volunteers. We are pleased to recognize the following groups this year for their efforts in 2025.

Most Active Technical Group: Optics for Energy Technical Group (Chair: Banafshe Zakeri).

Most Information Shared: Optical Biosensors Technical Group (Chair: Santosh Kumar).

Most Popular Activity: “Advancements in Hollow-Core Fibers: Progress and Challenges” webinar hosted by the Fiber Modeling and Application Technical Group (Chair: Turghun Matniyaz), and “Pocket-Sized Optical Spectroscopy: Revolutionizing Agri-Food Analytics at Your Fingertips” webinar hosted by the Agriphotonics Technical Group (Chair: Aparajita Bandyopadhyay).

Greatest Growth in Activity: Fiber Modeling and Application Technical Group (Chair: Turghun Matniyaz).

Innovation Prize: “Finding Schrodinger’s Cat” trivia games hosted by the Quantum Optical Science and Technology Technical Group (Chair: Bienvenu Ndagano).

Thank You, Editors

We are happy to announce the following individuals were recently appointed as new editors: Applied Optics—Sawyer Miller, Reality Labs at Meta, USA. Biomedical Optics Express—Alberto de Castro, Instituto de Óptica “Daza de Valdés” National Spanish Research Council, Spain; Danuta Sampson, Lions Eye Institute and The University of Western Australia, Australia; Azhar Zam, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE. JOSA A—Shining Ma, Beijing Institute of Technology, China. JOSA B—Ji Eun Bae, Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Matériaux et la Photonique, France. Optica—Manuel Guizar-Sicairos, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland; Nicolas Le Thomas, Ghent University, Belgium. Optical Materials Express—Sebastien Cueff, Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon, CNRS, France (as Deputy Editor); Giuseppe D’Aguanno, Johns Hopkins University-Applied Physics Lab, USA. Optics Continuum—Ajanta Barh, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; Thomas Bradley, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands; Munho Kim, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Manoj Kumar, Amity University Punjab, India; Qiong Liu, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China; Yaoguang Ma, Zhejiang University, China; Marilou Raduban, Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand; Tomohiro Shirai, National Metrology Institute, Japan. Optics Letters—Chao Chang, Peking University, China; Guangwei Hu, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Yufei Ma, Harbin Institute of Technology, China; Christian Schmiegelow, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; V R Supradeepa, Indian Institute of Science, India.

We would like to thank the following editors for agreeing to serve a second term: Applied Optics—Ibrahim Abdulhalim, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; Daniele Farnesi, Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara,” Italy. Biomedical Optics Express—Bernhard Baumann, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. JOCN—Carmen Mas Machuca, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany; Yongli Zhao, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China. JOSA B—Gyu-Boong Jo, Rice University, USA. Optica—Georg Friedrich Rademacher, University of Stuttgart, Germany. Optica Quantum—Koji Azuma, NTT, Japan; Matthew Eichenfield, University of Arizona, USA. Optical Materials Express—Guangxin Ni, Florida State University, USA. Optics Express—Ehab Awad, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia; Oliver Höhn, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Germany; Luiz Jacobsohn, Clemson University, USA; Domna Kotsifaki, Duke Kunshan University, China; Maria Pelizzo, University of Padova, Italy; Liang Jie Wong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Optics Letters—Pasquale Memmolo, Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems “Eduardo Caianiello,” Italy; Brandon Redding, US Naval Research Laboratory, USA.

We would like to thank the following editors, who have recently finished their terms, for their years of service: Biomedical Optics Express—Juan Tabernero, Universidad de Murcia, Spain. Optica Quantum—Ulrik Andersen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark. Optical Materials Express—Alessandro Salandrino, University of Kansas, USA. Optics Continuum—You Yang, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. Optics Express—Ray Conley, Argonne National Laboratory, USA; Meng Cui, Purdue University, USA; Yufei Ma, Harbin Institute of Technology, China; Nicolaie Pavel, National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, Romania; Samanta Piano, University of Nottingham, UK. Optics Letters—Hideaki Kano, Keio University, Japan; Alison Yao, University of Strathclyde, UK.