Abstracts due date extended to 21 February
Submit today!
>
23 - 26 June 2025
Munich, Germany
In Memoriam

This year's conference is dedicated to the memory of John Asmus, University of California, San Diego (United States) and Austin Nevin, The Courtauld Institute of Art (United Kingdom)

John Asmus was a physicist with the University of California, San Diego (USA), who pioneered the use of scientific techniques for Cultural Heritage preservation. He performed seminal research in the application of optical methods and digital image processing in art conservation, which placed him among the world’s foremost experts in heritage science. His work embraced outstanding artistic treasures, such as Leonardo's Mona Lisa and China’s ancient terracotta army. For his work on the latter, he was awarded the Rolex Laureate for Enterprise.

Austin Nevin was the Head of the Conservation Department at The Courtauld Institute of Art and an influential scholar, whose pioneering research on the conservation of paintings, spectroscopy, and chemistry of pigments has been widely cited. He conducted research in Italy, Greece and Sweden, with his work spanning from Chinese wall paintings, Egyptian polychromies, and famous ancient and modern paintings. He was a Vice President and Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation. His enthusiasm and passion for Heritage Science inspired the whole research community.

A special session honoring these exceptional scientists will be organized as part of the O3A 2025 conference.

The tenth edition of the Optics for Arts, Architecture and Archaeology Conference will be held in Munich as part of the SPIE Optical Metrology Symposium at the World of Photonics Congress in June 2025. O3A is an established event for discussing advances in optical instrumentation and methods for the study, conservation and documentation of cultural heritage. The symposium is a unique forum focused on optics research in the field of heritage science. Optics applications in cultural heritage have a long and dynamic history owing to the non-destructive nature of optical imaging starting with microscopy, infrared photography and X-radiography. Optical imaging provided the most popular methods of examination for cultural heritage before micro-chemical analysis became possible. In recent years, the development of new imaging and spectroscopic techniques have revitalized the application of optics in cultural heritage. The non-invasive nature of these techniques means that whole objects and collections can now be examined with multiple techniques, which will inevitably result in unprecedented amount of data collected that will in turn push new boundaries in data and image processing methods. The demand of the developing European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (www.e-rihs.eu) for new instruments, data processing methods and facilities will no doubt advance the field even further.

The 2025 symposium will discuss instruments and techniques that span the entire electromagnetic spectrum and cover a broad range of spatial scales along with the associated data and image processing and visualization methods. New instruments and techniques, multi-modal imaging and multi-technique integrated analysis and data fusion techniques that meets the challenges of big data analytics, utilizing machine learning and AI, are expected to be the focus. A further area of focus is the examination of potential damage to materials caused by illumination sources such as lasers and X-rays, to ensure that a technique is not only effective but also safe for heritage materials. Contributions focused on applications, including in preventive conservation and sustainable heritage are welcome.

Contributions will be considered in all fields of research for cultural and natural heritage including the following areas of interest:
The symposium will be an ideal forum to exchange ideas and to discuss methods and best practices for optics and imaging applied to heritage science. The World of Photonics Congress offers a perfect opportunity for instrumentalists to engage with industry and to learn about the latest developments in sensor technology and optical components at the accompanying exhibition. With low registration fees for students and tens of conferences under the same roof, it is a perfect occasion to be introduced to the world of optics, photonics and advanced imaging relevant to the study of heritage assets and to develop professional interdisciplinary networks. ;
In progress – view active session
Conference OM103

Optics for Arts, Architecture, and Archaeology (O3A) X

This conference has an open call for papers:
Abstract Due: 21 February 2025
Author Notification: 28 March 2025
Manuscript Due: 4 June 2025
In Memoriam

This year's conference is dedicated to the memory of John Asmus, University of California, San Diego (United States) and Austin Nevin, The Courtauld Institute of Art (United Kingdom)

John Asmus was a physicist with the University of California, San Diego (USA), who pioneered the use of scientific techniques for Cultural Heritage preservation. He performed seminal research in the application of optical methods and digital image processing in art conservation, which placed him among the world’s foremost experts in heritage science. His work embraced outstanding artistic treasures, such as Leonardo's Mona Lisa and China’s ancient terracotta army. For his work on the latter, he was awarded the Rolex Laureate for Enterprise.

Austin Nevin was the Head of the Conservation Department at The Courtauld Institute of Art and an influential scholar, whose pioneering research on the conservation of paintings, spectroscopy, and chemistry of pigments has been widely cited. He conducted research in Italy, Greece and Sweden, with his work spanning from Chinese wall paintings, Egyptian polychromies, and famous ancient and modern paintings. He was a Vice President and Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation. His enthusiasm and passion for Heritage Science inspired the whole research community.

A special session honoring these exceptional scientists will be organized as part of the O3A 2025 conference.

The tenth edition of the Optics for Arts, Architecture and Archaeology Conference will be held in Munich as part of the SPIE Optical Metrology Symposium at the World of Photonics Congress in June 2025. O3A is an established event for discussing advances in optical instrumentation and methods for the study, conservation and documentation of cultural heritage. The symposium is a unique forum focused on optics research in the field of heritage science. Optics applications in cultural heritage have a long and dynamic history owing to the non-destructive nature of optical imaging starting with microscopy, infrared photography and X-radiography. Optical imaging provided the most popular methods of examination for cultural heritage before micro-chemical analysis became possible. In recent years, the development of new imaging and spectroscopic techniques have revitalized the application of optics in cultural heritage. The non-invasive nature of these techniques means that whole objects and collections can now be examined with multiple techniques, which will inevitably result in unprecedented amount of data collected that will in turn push new boundaries in data and image processing methods. The demand of the developing European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (www.e-rihs.eu) for new instruments, data processing methods and facilities will no doubt advance the field even further.

The 2025 symposium will discuss instruments and techniques that span the entire electromagnetic spectrum and cover a broad range of spatial scales along with the associated data and image processing and visualization methods. New instruments and techniques, multi-modal imaging and multi-technique integrated analysis and data fusion techniques that meets the challenges of big data analytics, utilizing machine learning and AI, are expected to be the focus. A further area of focus is the examination of potential damage to materials caused by illumination sources such as lasers and X-rays, to ensure that a technique is not only effective but also safe for heritage materials. Contributions focused on applications, including in preventive conservation and sustainable heritage are welcome.

Contributions will be considered in all fields of research for cultural and natural heritage including the following areas of interest:
  • 3D topographic scanning, surface examination and analysis (e.g. optical profilometry, reflectance transformation imaging, structured light imaging and other triangulation based methods, etc.)
  • 3D tomographic imaging, stratigraphic and depth resolved methods (e.g. optical coherence tomography, non-linear microscopy, terahertz imaging, micro-CT etc.)
  • large scale internal structural analysis (e.g. holography and other interferometric techniques)
  • imaging and spectroscopy for material analyses (e.g. the various spectral imaging modalities such as reflectance imaging from UV to infrared, fluorescence imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray imaging, synchrotron based techniques, etc.)
  • remote imaging, sensing and spectroscopy at large stand-off distances, including drone-based methods
  • new portable and mobile instruments for in situ applications
  • multimodal imaging and multi-technique analysis, including data fusion methods
  • multi-scale and multi-wavelength imaging for structural and material analysis
  • light-matter interactions (signal-generating interactions in the various imaging and spectroscopic techniques, material degradation induced by natural lighting or illumination sources associated with an analysis technique) including origins and mechanisms for material alteration
  • advanced image processing methods, including artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to tackle big data problems
  • new data visualization methods
  • new methods and applications to cultural heritage research.
The symposium will be an ideal forum to exchange ideas and to discuss methods and best practices for optics and imaging applied to heritage science. The World of Photonics Congress offers a perfect opportunity for instrumentalists to engage with industry and to learn about the latest developments in sensor technology and optical components at the accompanying exhibition. With low registration fees for students and tens of conferences under the same roof, it is a perfect occasion to be introduced to the world of optics, photonics and advanced imaging relevant to the study of heritage assets and to develop professional interdisciplinary networks.
Conference Chair
Nottingham Trent Univ. (United Kingdom)
Conference Chair
Technische Univ. Delft (Netherlands)
Program Committee
Univ. degli Studi dell'Aquila (Italy)
Program Committee
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (India)
Program Committee
Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Program Committee
Univ. degli Studi di Verona (Italy)
Program Committee
CYU Paris Cergy Univ. (France)
Program Committee
National Gallery of Art (United States)
Program Committee
Duke Univ. (United States)
Program Committee
Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (Italy)
Program Committee
ITMO Univ. (Russian Federation)
Program Committee
Univ. Paris-Sud (France)
Program Committee
Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical Univ. "LETI" (Russian Federation)
Program Committee
Istituto Nazionale di Ottica-CNR (Italy)
Program Committee
Warsaw Univ. of Technology (Poland)
Program Committee
Synchrotron SOLEIL (France)
Program Committee
Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (Greece)
Additional Information

View call for papers

 

What you will need to submit

  • Presentation title
  • Author(s) information
  • Speaker biography (1000-character max including spaces)
  • Abstract for technical review (200-300 words; text only)
  • Summary of abstract for display in the program (50-150 words; text only)
  • Keywords used in search for your paper (optional)
  • Check the individual conference call for papers for additional requirements (i.e. extended abstract PDF upload for review or instructions for award competitions)
Note: Only original material should be submitted. Commercial papers, papers with no new research/development content, and papers with proprietary restrictions will not be accepted for presentation.