Following January’s Photonics Spectra Conference, Photonics Media will host the latest addition to its showcase of virtual events on April 27 and 28 with the Photonics Spectra Optics Conference. The program features presentations from more than a dozen industry leaders spanning the entire optics value chain. Sessions will provide insights on cutting-edge advances in materials, design, fabrication, coatings, and metrology, and be available to attendees during and after the event. Ulrike Fuchs, vice president of strategy and innovation at asphericon GmbH, keynotes the conference with her presentation “From the Design Lab to the Factory Floor: How Optics Manufacturers Move Swiftly from Concept to Creation.” The design and fabrication of optics often requires teamwork with many specialists, from material scientists who research and study the chemical structures of synthetic or composite materials, to optical engineers who design precision systems, to the technicians who assemble them, Fuchs explains. Each specialist must understand his or her own craft, as well as a broader grasp of the processes and requirements along the entire manufacturing chain. Compounding the challenge is the fact that demands for traceability of individual components and entire systems as well as the increasing automation of production processes are all rising. Fuchs’ keynote will be available live starting at 11 a.m. on April 27. The Optics Conference will also feature a 2021-2022 market analysis on the effects of COVID-19; Tom Hausken, senior industry advisor at The Optical Society (OSA), will present “Optics Market 2021: Growth, Trends and Hot Sectors as the World Reemerges from COVID-19.” Hausken’s analysis will explore how the optics and photonics market fared through the pandemic, and what the industry can expect as the world reemerges from it. Hausken will present at 11 a.m. on April 28. The full list of presenters (subject to change) is listed below. Registration for this event is free. All times are EDT. For more information and registration, please visit www.photonics.com/pso2021. Continued coverage of this inaugural event will also be available on Photonics.com leading up to the conference. Presenters KEYNOTE “From the Design Lab to the Factory Floor: How Optics Manufacturers Move Swiftly from Concept to Creation” Ulrike Fuchs, asphericon “Optics Market 2021: Growth, Trends, and Hot Sectors as the World Reemerges from COVID-19” Tom Hausken, OSA “Designing Optical Assemblies for Manufacturability” Katie Schwertz, Edmund Optics “Optics Manufacturing: An Engine for Advancement in Astronomy” Jonathan Arenberg, Northrop Grumman “Enhancing Optics Productivity with Ultraprecision Diamond Machining” Christian Wenzel, Innolite “Interferometers: The Light Source Determines Performance and Application” Robert Smythe, Äpre Instruments “Optical Coatings: A Full Spectrum of Solutions” Dan Fiore, North American Coating Laboratories, NACL “Optics Polishing: Matching Techniques with Applications” Oliver Fähnle, OST — University of Applied Sciences “Polarization Metrology and Component Specification” Tom Baur, Meadowlark Optics “The Virtuous Cycle of Making and Measuring Nanostructures” Samuel M. Stavis, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST “3D-Printed Freeform VIRGO Optics” James Field, Vadient Optics "Optical Filters: A Commodity? Technologies and Applications" Oliver Pust "Active Metasurfaces for High-Performance, Ultracompact Optical Systems" Tian Gu and Mikhail Shalaginov, MIT "Intelligent Material Design for Infrared Optics" J. David Musgraves, Rochester Precision Optics LLC