SPIE president congratulates OSA on 100th anniversary

Robert Lieberman, President of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, today offered SPIE's congratulations to the Optical Society on the Washington, D.C.-based society's 100th anniversary. Founded in 1916 as the Optical Society of America, OSA is observing its centennial throughout this year.

"The past 100 years have brought amazing changes in our world, with much of the progress in communications, healthcare, and many other areas of life enabled by research in and commercialization of photonics technologies," Dr. Lieberman said.

"As OSA celebrates its 100th anniversary — during the Century of the Photon — SPIE congratulates its members and leadership, past and present, for their many important contributions in optics research and community building."

Professional societies have played an important role in this effort, Lieberman said. "We at SPIE will continue to work very closely with OSA and other societies in our field to ensure that optical and photonic technologies and applications continue to evolve and that the community continues to thrive."

In addition to conferences, student chapters and other activities, SPIE and OSA collaborations have included partnership in and sponsorship of worldwide observances such as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 and LaserFest in 2010, marking the 50th anniversary of the invention of the first laser.

The two societies are Founding Sponsors of the National Photonics Initiative in the USA.