OPN July/August
Cover Story
Vision Sensors in Automobiles: An Indian Perspective
Mukul Sarkar
Traffic accidents kill more people than most diseases—and the roads in India are among the most dangerous in the world. CMOS-based vision sensors could help save lives by extending drivers’ sight far beyond their mirrors and headlights... more>>
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Albert Einstein and the Nature of Light
Barry R. Masters
Einstein’s genius lay in his ability to bridge the gap between radiation in space and radiation-matter interactions. He explained the interaction between light and matter by the absorption and emission of light quanta, thereby explaining several perplexing physical phenomena. more>>
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Beyond the Beam: A History of Multidimensional Lasers
Zoltán György Horváth
For the past half century, both scientists and the public have come to think of lasers as producing line-like beams. Yet there’s nothing about the laser that requires light emission to occur in a single dimension. Though initially forgotten and ignored, multidimensional lasers may define the next era of the technology’s evolution. more>>
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Light Pollution: The Problem and the Possible Solutions
Patricia Daukantas
Over the past quarter-century, scientists have become increasingly aware of the problems that light pollution causes for astronomers, migrating birds and human health and safety. Finding effective means to reduce the effects will take the combined efforts of research scientists, lighting engineers, architects, city planners, businesspeople and homeowners. more>>
Spotting Malaria Fast
Yvonne Carts-Powell
An international group of researchers reports that a simple, secondary speckle-sensing microscopy technique quickly and correctly identified malaria in cells more>>
Career Focus
Choosing a Career at a National Lab
Tyler S. Ralston
Physics or engineering graduate students often see only two choices for their career paths—academia in one direction and industry in the other. However, there’s a third option: a national laboratory. Tyler Ralston talks about his experience working for a national lab and the unique opportunities that this career choice provides. more>>
Light Touch
Zograscopes: An 18th Century Perspective on 3-D Imaging
Stephen R. Wilk
So-called perspective machines were popular parlor amusements in the 18th and 19th centuries. Also known as zograscopes or boites d’optique, these devices brought flat images to life in the days before stereoscopic imaging. more>>
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Photonics Explorer: Working within the Curriculum to Engage Young Minds
Amrita Prasad, Nathalie Debaes, Johan Vlekken, Nina Cords, Manfred Euler and Hugo Thienpont
The Photonics Explorer teaching kit is designed to work within the European secondary school curriculum. This approach allows teachers to easily incorporate optics and photonics into their lesson plans and introduces more students to this exciting field. more>>
Optical Engineering
Automated Inspection of Optics using ISO Specifications
Quentin Turchette and Trey Turner
Representatives from Research Electro-Optics Inc., a precision optics manufacturer, explain how to quickly and accurately identify surface defects using an automated microscope-based system that follows the ISO 10110-7 specification. more>>
Viewpoint
Lessons from an Editorial Term
Pablo Artal
OSA Fellow Pablo Artal recently finished his second and final term as a topical editor of the Journal of the Optical Society of America A. Here, he shares his advice to authors and reviewers based on his six years of experience. more>>