SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum Showcases Best of Optics, Photonics, Quantum, Biomedical Technologies in Applications and Research
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, welcomed an engaged global audience to its SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum 6-11 March with 8,000 registered attendees. Across the highly regarded BiOS, LASE, and OPTO symposia, as well as the new industry-focused Quantum West conference, SPIE Photonics West showcased more than 20 plenary speakers, including Ursula Keller, Gérard Mourou, Susumu Noda, Satoshi Kako, Kohji Mitani, Sheila Nirenberg, Laura Fabris, and Yeka Aponte. More than 100 live events – including panel sessions, technical discussions, and networking events complemented the 3,200 on-demand presentations.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005651/en/
SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum showcases best of optics, photonics, quantum, biomedical technologies in applications and research (Photo: Business Wire)
In addition, two Digital Marketplaces – one for Photonics West, one for BiOS – together showcased more than 400 exhibitors and over 100 product demonstrations of the latest innovations in optics and photonics.
The largest photonics virtual event of 2021, SPIE Photonics West spotlighted and recognized the best optics and photonics technologies, trends, and entrepreneurial innovations, offering many opportunities for attendees, presenters, scientists, and engineers to engage and discuss their latest research and work. From COVID-focused diagnostics advancements and neuro-technologies to lasers in manufacturing and data center communications, SPIE Photonics West offered a dynamic week of information sharing, learning, and conversation.
Quantum West, a new conference on quantum technology held in partnership with the QED-C, featured industry leaders such as Celia Merzbacher, Peter Knight, Andrew Lord, Wilhelm Kaenders, and Kaitlin Moore exploring the role of photonics in quantum technology’s growth from R&D into engineering products for commercial applications.
"I have worked with SPIE over many years, as both an exhibitor and conference chair, and am very happy to help build Quantum West together with them,” said Quantum West Co-Chair Tim Day who serves as DRS Daylight Solutions GM and senior VP, as well as Member of the Board of ColdQuanta. “SPIE did a great job under challenging circumstances and is always a wonderful partner in terms of bringing the community together and helping to advance photonics technology. We, along with many others in the photonics community, are looking forward to an in-person meeting next January in San Francisco.”
Other industry-focused events featured live sessions with thought leaders discussing today’s hottest application areas, including industrial lasers, sensing and imaging, and autonomous vehicles.
“I come to Photonics West every year with my students,” said Jennifer Barton, who is co-chair for BiOS as well as the director of the University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute and the university’s Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering. “This year, three of them presented virtually, along with myself. I was very impressed with the high quality of live and prerecorded presentations, the flawless execution of events, and the surprisingly effective opportunities for networking and fun – go Trivia Night! Of course, I am looking forward to seeing everyone in person next year, but I loved how engaging and informative this conference week was.”
“Photonics West is the largest biomedical, laser, and optoelectronic event in our field, even when we cannot travel,” noted SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. “Given the virtual circumstances, our volunteer conference chairs rolled up their sleeves and produced an amazing offering to present and discuss the latest technical advancements. But nothing can replace the in-person experience and the excitement of gathering together at Photonics West in San Francisco. We are very much looking forward to hosting Photonics West in San Francisco next January.”
All the Photonics West content will be available on the SPIE Digital Library from 20 March.
Photonics West 2022 will take place 22-27 January at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The Call for Papers will be announced and open in the next few weeks.
About SPIE
SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 258,000 constituents from 184 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2020, SPIE provided over $5 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. www.spie.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005651/en/
Contact information
Daneet Steffens
Public Relations Manager
daneets@spie.org
+1 360 685 5478
@SPIEtweets
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Thredd Powers Successful Migration of BigPay’s Card Portfolio to Next-Gen Platform26.11.2025 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Thredd, the leading next-generation global payments processor, has successfully migrated BigPay’s virtual and physical card portfolio from its previous, legacy processor to Thredd’s next-generation platform, underscoring Thredd’s leadership in complex card portfolio migrations. The migration project, one of several in recent years, included over 2.5 million cards and highlights Thredd’s unique combination of deep migration experience, robust processes, and advanced technology—qualities increasingly critical as the industry faces a wave of modernisation and replatforming. This achievement comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. Industry analysts estimate that retail banks failing to modernise could see 10% to 15% of their payments revenue at risk annually as legacy platforms struggle to keep pace with demands for hyperpersonalization, digital experiences, faster time-to-market, and operational efficiencies. With more than 100 million cards per year expected to move to modern platfor
With Two in Five Employees Undergoing Fertility Treatment Leaving Their Jobs or Considering Quitting, Are Companies Doing Enough?26.11.2025 09:00:00 EET | Press release
An international survey, spanning Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK, has found that many employees experiencing fertility challenges lack support in the workplace, with almost two in five (39%) leaving or considering leaving their roles while undergoing treatment.1 ‘The Impact of Fertility Challenges at Work: International Insights’ survey by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Fertility Matters at Work and This Can Happen shows that, despite growing awareness of reproductive health, two thirds (67%) who have experienced fertility challenges say that their workplaces do not offer support for employees undergoing fertility treatment, with France the least likely to provide it (88%).1 60% said they were not clearly entitled to time off for fertility appointments, with time recorded as paid leave, unpaid leave or annual leave (26%), and some also reported taking sick leave due to a lack of flexibility (17%).1 With assisted reproduction therapy, including IVF, already accounting for up to 1
Venture Global and Tokyo Gas Announce 20-Year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement26.11.2025 02:00:00 EET | Press release
Today, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd announced the execution of a new, long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). Under the SPA, Tokyo Gas will procure 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Venture Global for 20 years, starting in 2030. This deal marks 7.75MTPA of SPAs signed by Venture Global in the last six months. “With nearly 8 MTPA of new long-term commitments signed this year, Venture Global is pleased to build on our commercial momentum through this new partnership with Tokyo Gas,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. “Tokyo Gas is a pioneer in the LNG industry and leading provider of natural gas to Japan, and we look forward to working with them as we grow our position as a top LNG supplier to Japan. This agreement will contribute significantly to the US-Japan balance of trade over the duration of the SPA, providing Japan with affordable, reliable American LNG.” About Venture Global Venture Global is an American pro
Airship Study: No-Code Native App Experiences Double Purchase Frequency (+140%), Offering Path to Profitable Holiday Growth26.11.2025 01:08:00 EET | Press release
Mobile-first customer experience company Airship today released new aggregate data analysis findings showing that no-code native app experiences significantly increase conversion for key lifecycle events and more than double purchase frequency. The Airship "Experience Impact” research, which studied over 1,000 in-app retail experiences and 1.7 billion device sessions, quantifies the impact of optimizing end-to-end customer journeys—not just sending messages—using no-code and AI-powered tools to drive loyalty and retention at scale, leading to sustainable profitability in a volatile economic environment. Key Findings Customers exposed to high-impact no-code native app experiences such as optimized onboarding flows, dynamic surveys, or embedded personalized offers, purchase 140% more frequently than app customers who don’t receive them. These experiences, which product owners and marketers can create and adapt without developer resources, significantly increase conversion for key lifecyc
Court Finds That Two Advanced Cell Diagnostics Patents Are Not Infringed by Molecular Instruments’ Proprietary HCR™ RNA-ISH Technology25.11.2025 18:30:00 EET | Press release
Molecular Instruments, Inc. announced today that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) of the European Union has found that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology does not infringe two patents owned by Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (a Bio-Techne group company). In a 2024 lawsuit filed in the UPC (proceedings no. UPC CFI 187/2024), Advanced Cell Diagnostics alleged that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology infringes European patents (EP) 2,500,439 and 1,910,572. The Court in its judgment of 18 November 2025 has rejected that claim and dismissed all of Advanced Cell Diagnostics' lawsuit, ruling that the patents are not infringed either literally or by equivalence (UPC Judgment). This 2025 UPC judgment follows on the heels of an April 2024 UK judgment in which the High Court of England and Wales had already dismissed an earlier infringement lawsuit by revoking the UK parts of the same two Advanced Cell Diagnostics patents (proceedings no. HP-2022-000026), ruling that they wer
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom