Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and carries out charitable activities.

Optica
Founded1916; 108 years ago (1916)
FounderPerley G. Nutting
Type501(c)3 organization
53-0259696
FocusOptics and photonics
Location
  • Washington, D.C., United States
Area served
Worldwide
MethodProfessional journals and conferences
Members
22,000
Key people
Gerd Leuchs (2024 president)

Michal Lipson (2023 president)
Satoshi Kawata (2022 president)

Constance J. Chang-Hasnain (2021 president)
Stephen D. Fantone (2020 president)
Revenue
$49,549,907[1][2]
Endowment$74,991,615
Employees150
Websitewww.osa.org Edit this at Wikidata

History

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Optica was founded in 1916 as the Optical Society of America, under the leadership of Perley G. Nutting,[3] with 30 optical scientists and instrument makers based in Rochester, New York. It soon published its first journal of research results and established an annual meeting.[4][5] The group's Journal of the Optical Society of America was created in 1918.[5] The first series of joint meetings with the American Physical Society took place in 1918.[5]

In 2008, it changed its name to the Optical Society.[6] In September 2021, the organization's name changed to Optica, in reference to the organization's journal by the same name and geographic neutrality to reflect the society's global membership.[7]

In 2024, following an employee whistleblower complaint, Bloomberg News reported that the Optica Foundation Challenge was funded entirely by Huawei.[8][9][10] In response, the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology launched a probe and Optica announced that it would no longer accept money from Huawei, remove the company's representation on a panel of judges, return donations made by Huawei from 2022 onward, and remove Elizabeth A. Rogan as CEO.[11][12][13][14]

Scientific publishing

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Optica Publishing Group

Optica Publishing Group is Optica's scientific publishing platform, which publishes peer-reviewed optics and photonics research. Optica Publishing Group's portfolio consists of 20 publications.[15]

Primary journals

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  • Advances in Optics and Photonics, ISSN 1943-8206; 2009–present — Publishing long review articles and tutorials.
  • Applied Optics, ISSN 1559-128X (print); ISSN 2155-3165 (online); 1962–present — Covering optical applications-centered research.
  • Biomedical Optics Express, ISSN 2156-7085; 2010–present — An open access journal covering optics, photonics and imaging in the life sciences.
  • Journal of the Optical Society of America, 1917–1983,[16] which was split into two journals in 1984:
  • Optica, ISSN 2334-2536; 2014–present — Rapid dissemination of high-impact results in all areas of optics and photonics.[17]
  • Optica Quantum, ISSN 2837-6714; 2023–present — An open access journal of high-impact results in quantum information science and technology enabled by optics.
  • Optical Materials Express, ISSN 2159-3930; 2011–present — An open access journal covering advances in novel optical materials, their properties, modeling, synthesis and fabrication techniques.
  • Optics Express, ISSN 1094-4087; 1997–present — An open access journal covering all areas of optics.
  • Optics Letters, ISSN 0146-9592 (print); ISSN 1539-4794 (online); 1977–present — Providing rapid publication of short papers in all fields of optical science and technology.
  • Optics Continuum, ISSN 2770-0208; 2022–present — An open access journal that publishes research articles meeting the standards for technical accuracy, scientific rigor, and presentation quality without judgment of impact or significance.

Partnered journals

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Magazine

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  • Optics and Photonics News, ISSN 1047-6938; 1975–present. Publishes monthly news for recent developments in optics on topics related to science and society, education, technology, and business.

Legacy journals

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  • Journal of Display Technology, 2005–2016. Jointly published by OSA and IEEE. Available online.
  • Journal of Optical Networking, 2002–2009. Published by OSA. Available online.
  • Journal of Optical Society of Korea, 2007–2016. Published by the Optical Society of Korea. Available online.
  • OSA Continuum, 2018–2021. Published by Optica. Available online.
  • Optics News, 1975–1989. Published by Optica. Available online.

Recognitions

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Optica presents awards and honors, including Optica Fellow, Honorary Membership, and Awards/Medals. Optica's awards and medals program is endowed through the Optica Foundation, and includes more than 20 named awards; among them are the following:[18]

Presidents

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The following persons are or have been presidents of the society:[19]

Notable people

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  • Hilda Conrady Kingslake, optics researcher, author of the "History of the Optical Society of America, 1916-1966" and "The First 50 Years — the Institute of Optics 1929-1979."[20]
  • Delwin Lindsey, editor of the society journal[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Optical Society of America Inc. Rating by Charity Navigator". charitynavigator.org. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Optical Society Of America Inc. Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Observers, Illuminants, Light Sources for Color Difference Calculations Archived January 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, William Reginald Dawes
  4. ^ "Why 1916? A Look Back at OSA's Roots." Archived June 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, files of W. Lewis Hyde, Optics & Photonics News, Vol. 17, No. 1, January 2006, pp. 18-19.
  5. ^ a b c "Optical Society of America". history.aip.org. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Johnson, Anne Frances; Lamontagne, Nancy D. (2016). "A Century of Light". Physics Today. 69 (6): 34–39. Bibcode:2016PhT....69f..34J. doi:10.1063/PT.3.3197. S2CID 114266829.
  7. ^ "OSA rebrands as 'Optica'". optics.org. September 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Connatser, Matthew (May 2, 2024). "Huawei's hidden hand in optics research competition shocks scholars". The Register. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  9. ^ O'Keeffe, Kate (May 2, 2024). "Huawei Secretly Backs US Research, Awarding Millions in Prizes". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  10. ^ O'Keeffe, Kate (June 25, 2024). "Huawei's Secret Ally in the US-China Tech War: A Science Nonprofit Based in DC". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  11. ^ Flatley, Daniel; O'Keefe, Kate (May 16, 2024). "Huawei-Funded Research at US Institutions Is Subject of House Probe". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  12. ^ O'Keeffe, Kate (June 6, 2024). "Optica Cuts Ties With Huawei After Secret Funding Exposed". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  13. ^ O'Keeffe, Kate; Flatley, Daniel (July 30, 2024). "Huawei's Ties to DC-Based Nonprofit Face Deepening US House Probe". Bloomberg News. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  14. ^ "A message from the 2024 Optica President, Gerd Leuchs | Optica". www.optica.org. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  15. ^ "About Optica Publishing Group". opg.optica.org. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "JOSA". Optics InfoBase. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  17. ^ "The Optical Society Launches Optica, New Open-Access Journal for Highest-Impact Research in the Science of Light". The Optical Society. July 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Awards & Grants". The Optical Society. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "Past Presidents". The Optical Society. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  20. ^ "Optica Publishing Group". opg.optica.org. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  21. ^ "Dr. Delwin Lindsey". Ohio State University. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
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Archival collections

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