As we head toward the light of SPIE’s Photonics West show in San Francisco, Jan. 30-Feb. 4, we wanted to get the ultimate insider’s look at what’s new, plenary talks to attend, career development and networking tips, the Startup Challenge, and, of course, where to find the dogs.

Laser Focus World: What’s new for 2027?

Bob Hainsey: The Embedded Vision Summit makes its first appearance at Photonics West. This program joins our Vision Tech and AR/VR/MR programs in Moscone West and features the latest advances in computer vision and physical AI. The program includes technical presentations, an industry program on the Moscone West exhibition floor and, of course, exhibiting companies. We’re excited to have this program join our portfolio of offerings at Photonics West as we continue to expand our vision program offerings and the Photonics West program as a whole.

The Quantum West Business Summit returns to the exhibition floor in Moscone South, and this three-day event focuses on the challenges of migrating an emerging technology from the lab to the commercial marketplace. This year’s program features the leading players in quantum computing and networking and is free to all attendees.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out our course program. These courses provide attendees with an opportunity to learn practical knowledge from the leaders in the field. Our 2027 program features more than a dozen newly developed courses with topics ranging from free-space optical communications to photonics in data centers to quantum circuits to single-photon detection to LiDAR engineering to stereo vision to camera color correction. Regardless of your area of interest, there’s a course that can benefit your career—whether you’d like to deepen your understanding of your current field or want to accelerate along the learning curve in a new field.

LFW: Who are the 2027 plenary speakers and what areas will they highlight?

Hainsey: We have lots of plenary speakers lined up. To give you an idea: In OPTO, the optoelectronics portion of the program, the plenary includes a talk by Pete Shadbolt, cofounder and chief science officer at PsiQuantum, discussing the progress toward photonics-based, large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers.

In LASE, the lasers portion of the program, we’ll hear about the Artemis II mission from Marie Henderson and David Hollibaugh Baker of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

For the Quantum West plenary, Jennifer Dionne of Stanford University will share her research in nanophotonics applied to everything from protein sequencing to qubit manipulation.

Our BiOS Hot Topics session will feature the winners of the prestigious Britton Chance Award and the Biophotonics Innovator Award, along with presentations on optical coherence imaging, label-free imaging of live cells, CRISPR, and the use of AI to enhance imaging results. Meanwhile, our Biophotonics Focus plenary will feature presentations focused on the impact of skin tone in biophotonics.

The AR/VR/MR portion of the program features leading companies sharing their work advancing this technology in the commercial marketplace.

And our Embedded Vision Summit starts its run at Photonics West with an incredibly strong plenary featuring Ken Goldberg of Stanford and Amir Navot of Amazon Prime Air.

LFW: Are you seeing increased interest in quantum and AR/VR/MR?

Hainsey: Submissions for Quantum West and our XR (AR/VR/MR) program both continue to increase and interest continues to expand both among the research communities and their industrial/commercial counterparts. For both these programs, SPIE does something no one else does by spanning the range of the technology readiness level (TRL) curve with technical conferences where researchers share their most recent findings to industry programs featuring the companies maturing and commercializing these technologies to the exhibitors showing actual products.

LFW: Top 3 reasons for students to attend?

Hainsey: Career development, career development, career development.

1. Career development: Hear about the latest research in your field of interest from other researchers, including many of the leaders in our field. The plenaries in particular provide students an opportunity to hear from some of the key players in biophotonics, optoelectronics, lasers, quantum technology, and vision technologies.

2. Career development: Networking opportunities abound. Build your network and expand your horizons and your career opportunities. Reach out to presenters to make new connections. Many people tell us that conversations and introductions at Photonics West resulted in life-long friendships and collaborations. This is your opportunity to immerse yourself in the community.

3. Career development: No, really, career development. The Career Hub in the Member Lounge features activities designed to guide students on their career paths. We have mock-interviews, résumé reviews, a head photo station, and mentoring sessions designed to help students navigate their future career paths.

And a bonus is the exhibition! Where else can you see and be inspired by more than 1,400 companies presenting their products? These are all the real-life output of all the research we do—the result of migrating from the lab to the 24/7 commercial marketplace. You’ll be amazed by all the things optics and photonics can do and how the products from our community inform and improve lives.

LFW: Best places/times/ways to network?

Hainsey: Our First-Timers Orientation is Sunday morning and not only does it provide an opportunity for new attendees to meet each other and key members of the volunteer community but it also provides valuable advice about how best to navigate the event.

Sunday evening features a Student, Senior, and Fellow member mixer to provide student members of SPIE with an opportunity to meet the volunteer leaders in our community.

The Welcome Reception on Monday night is always the social highlight of the week. It’s an opportunity for attendees to network, snack, and immerse themselves in the reception’s theme, which is always entertaining, changes each year, and is a closely guarded secret until the event kicks off.

Our Women in Optics program is on Tuesday morning. Attendees will hear from the amazing women who are helping shape our industry—it’s an opportunity to network with community leaders and make new friends.

The SPIE Member Lounge and Career Hub in Moscone West provides members with a place to refresh and relax. It also hosts a number of events during the week, including free career coaching and mentoring, résumé reviews, a head photo station, and a Member Happy Hour. The Member Lounge and Career Center are open Sunday through Thursday.

Poster sessions running throughout the week are another great opportunity to combine technical discussions with networking. These run Sunday through Wednesday.

LFW: What inspired the Startup Challenge and what does it involve?

Hainsey: The Startup Challenge will celebrate its 17th anniversary in 2027. Since its inception in 2011 with founding partner Jenoptik, it’s been SPIE’s competition for companies in the pre-seed and early-seed stages. Competitors begin the process by submitting details of their innovation and business plan, which is then judged by a panel of optics and photonics experts cross-cutting venture capital, industry, and funding organizations.

The top candidates then have the opportunity to participate in a live pitch competition at Photonics West for cash prizes. 2027’s competition is on February 2 during the exhibition, and beyond the prizes for the top three finalists we’re proud to also award the Jay Kumler Innovation Award. In honor of Jay Kumler, our founding partner and president of Jenoptik North America, this prize is given to the company whose proposal demonstrates innovation in addressing a key challenge.

LFW: Will the dogs be there and where can we find them?

Hainsey: Woof! That’s a yes! It’s become a Photonics West tradition. You’ll find the dog park on the first level of Moscone West in the exhibition hall. Treats and selfies welcome...and expected.