Built on a solid foundation

Nov. 13, 2015

Stability and precision are critical characteristics of photonics tools, and represent a recurrent theme of this issue. The characteristics are essential in interferometers, as noted by senior editor John Wallace in his Photonics Products feature exploring the different products and methods available for interferometrically measuring aspheres (see page 41). Contributing editor Jeff Hecht, continuing his 50th year celebration of Laser Focus World, furthers the theme by telling tales of how optical positioning equipment was developed to put interferometers, holography systems, and many other optical systems on a stable footing. As he recounts, we have come a long way from some initial lab setups that had tabletops resting on the inner tubes of truck tires (see page 27).

Greater stability and precision in biophotonics tools are also evident in our BioOptics World section this month, where researchers explain recent, significant advances in two fields: near-infrared fluorescence guidance for advanced surgery techniques (see page 63) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), which, aided by data processing, promises to be useful in clinical monitoring and therapeutic treatment of the retina (see page 58).

Products have always been the most reliably popular topic in our website and magazine, and of course in our Buyers Guide. They are the tools that scientists and engineers actually use or specify in their work. To illustrate, the Photonics Products article on interferometers that I described earlier is part of John Wallace's widely read, bi-monthly series on products, and I'm happy to say that the series becomes monthly in 2016, with senior editor Gail Overton also contributing with product survey articles on topics such as specialty fibers, spectrometers, high-speed cameras, and nanopositioners.

I am confident that these articles will contribute to the continued stability and precision found in Laser Focus World over the past 50 years.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.