BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA -- SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, the largest unclassified international symposium on sensors, systems, and platforms, is expected to draw more than 6,000 attendees for its 55 technical conferences and 500-company exhibition. Dates are 5-9 April at the Orlando, Florida, World Center Marriott Resort and Convention Center.
Conferences in persistent surveillance and energy harvesting are new this year. The 2,300 technical presentations will cover topics such as:
An education program offers 54 courses on technology topics in infrared, sensing, imaging, security, laser systems, and optoelectronics, and on professional development.
Exhibitors will show IR imagers, sensors, and optics technology in use or development for defense, industrial, and commercial applications. A return feature in the exhibition is a display of robotics and unmanned systems currently deployed by the U.S. armed forces, including a scale model of the General Atomics Air Force MQ-9 Reaper,ISP Optics Penguin, and live demonstrations of unmanned ground vehicles.
Zachary J. Lemnios, Director, Defense Research and Engineering and CTO of the U.S. Department of Defense, will give a symposium plenary talk on "Transforming U.S. Defense R&D to Meet 21st Century Challenges."
Fenner Milton, Director of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate of the U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and speak at the symposium banquet. Milton's laboratory develops electro-optical technology such as image intensifiers, infrared sensors, and tactical lasers.
Directors of three U.S. government research agencies will share information on opportunities for doing business with the government. The session is chaired by Paul McManamon, Air Force Research Lab. (Ret.) and the Univ. of Dayton. Presenters will be Lisa Porter, IARPA Director, Office of the Director of National Intelligence ; David Honey, Director, Research Directorate, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (AT&L), Office of the Director Defense Research and Engineering; and Richard Matlock, Director, Advanced Technology, Missile Defense Agency.
John Zolper, Vice President of R&D at Raytheon, will give an industry keynote talk.
Michael Eismann, Air Force Research Lab, is Symposium Chair, and William Jeffrey, HRL Labs, is Symposium Cochair.
Conference proceedings are published in the SPIE Digital Library in per-paper mode as soon as approved after the meeting, and also in collected print and digital volumes and collections.
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 188,000 constituents from 138 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional growth. SPIE annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions, and education programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, and supports scholarships, grants, and other education programs around the world.
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