Registration has opened for SPIE Photonics West 2024, which will run from 27 January to 1 February at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The largest annual conference and exhibition in optics and photonics, the week will include more than 4,500 technical presentations as well as showcasing over 1,200 companies in three focused exhibitions. Photonics West brings together researchers, innovators, engineers, and business leaders from across the globe for an engaging week of research sharing, collaboration forming, and innovation-inspiring exchanges.
SPIE Photonics West has four major application areas emphasizing the latest technologies and discoveries that utilize optics and photonics. BiOS highlights new research in biophotonics, biomedical optics, and imaging for diagnostics and therapeutics; LASE focuses on the laser industry and its diverse applications; OPTO covers optoelectronics, photonic materials, and optical devices; and, now in its third year, Quantum West features quantum 2.0 technologies from quantum sensing and information systems to quantum enabled materials and devices and quantum biology. This year, Quantum West will also include a Quantum West Business Summit highlighting the work of moving quantum technologies to market.
Featuring more than 1,200 companies with product launches, live demonstrations, and cutting-edge technologies on display, the accompanying exhibitions during Photonics West provide terrific platforms for the diverse and healthy photonics industry.
“The demand for exhibition space at Photonics West is always a great indicator of the health of our industry, and this year, we’ve responded to increased demand by expanding the footprint 15% over last year’s and expect to sell out once again,” said SPIE Global Exhibition Services Director Bonnie Peterson. “We’re excited to welcome returning and new companies and look forward to offering our exhibitor community an engaging platform for their technologies, applications, and market-ready systems and components.”
New this year, the Quantum West Expo, 30-31 January, will showcase worldwide providers of the latest quantum technologies. The BiOS Expo — featuring new and transformative technologies in biomedical optics and healthcare applications — runs 27-28 January, while the Photonics West Exhibition, 30 January to 1 February, encompasses the latest from laser manufacturers and suppliers as well as other innovative optics and photonics devices, components, systems, and services. In addition, the dynamic industry program also returns with a renewed focus on the markets and applications shaping the photonics industry. All three exhibitions and the industry program are free to attend with a SPIE Photonics West registration.
The vibrant, event-packed week will cover the latest technologies and industry developments across the optics and photonics spectrum, from the SPIE BiOS Hot Topics and conference plenary sessions to the Prism Awards and the SPIE Startup Challenge. Highlighting the latest innovative research breakthroughs are the dynamic Hot Topics and plenary speakers, including Lingyan Shi, University of California, San Diego; Giuliano Scarcelli, University of Maryland; Paul Beard, University College London; Ben Vakoc, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Philip Tinnefeld, LMU-Munich; Charles Lin, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Systems Biology; Ryan Field, Kernel; Michelle Digman, University of California, Irvine; Jun Ye, JILA; Stephanie Simmons, Photonic, Inc; Marlan Scully, Texas A&M; Paul Prucnal, Princeton University; Åsa Haglund, Chalmers; Roel Baets, Ghent University/imec; Ahmed Diallo, ARPA-E; Akira Furusawa, University of Tokyo and RIKEN; Laura Na Liu, University of Stuttgart; Siddharth Ramachandran, Boston University; Bruce Tromberg, National Institutes of Health; R. Rox Anderson, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Griff Harsh, University of California, Davis; Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater; Cynthia Toth, Duke University; and Eric Henderson, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Alongside the conferences and exhibitions, Photonics West will also offer 57 technical courses, including the popular Quantum Computing: A Concise Introduction, as well as eight new courses on topics such as inverse design for photonics, trends in miniature camera technology, photoacoustic imaging, and optical design for AR/VR/MR technologies.
The wide-ranging educational program complements numerous professional development workshops, a comprehensive job fair, and valuable networking opportunities for technical attendees, SPIE Members, and exhibitors.
Full conference registration for Photonics West includes access to the three-day SPIE AR | VR | MR event, which focuses on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality and the vital role that optics and photonics play in hardware and headset development. This popular program incorporates more than 30 invited industry talks, keynotes, and panels with speakers representing a range of exciting companies, including META, Oppo, XREAL, and Magic Leap; a two-day exhibition; and a headset museum featuring more than 100 headsets from the late 1980s to the present day.
This year, SPIE will also introduce its inaugural Global Business Forum. This one-day informational and networking opportunity held on 29 January, with a focus on current and emerging trends across the international optics and photonics industry and markets, will include insights from Tematys’ Thierry Robin, Yole Group’s Jean-Christophe Eloy, BOS Photonics’ Bo Gu; and Harlin’s John Lincoln, among others. Registration for the Global Business Forum is separate from Photonics West and will be available via the event website.
“Photonics West 2024 promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking week of networking and learning opportunities,” said SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. “We are particularly excited to be expanding our Quantum West programming, including the addition of a quantum-focused exhibit. As the first major community gathering of the year, we continue to bring together a unique nexus of industry leaders and highly regarded researchers whose collaborations drive products, innovation, and technical breakthroughs. We expect an increase from last year’s 22,000 registered attendees and invite you to join the global photonics community and experience all that Photonics West 2024 has to offer.”
