Globalization in Photonics: an IEEE Photonics Journal Special Issue

The IEEE Photonics Journal, the IEEE Photonics Society’s open access journal providing rapid publication of top-quality peer-reviewed papers at the forefront of photonics research, has released a Special Issue on “Globalization in Photonics“, which provides a several detailed overviews of various worldwide developments in photonics. This all-invited special issue is a collection based on a series of presentations from the “Symposium on Globalization in Photonics Research & Development” at the IEEE Photonics Conference, which took place November 2022, in Vancouver, Canada.

“It has been a privilege serving the IEEE Photonics Society and broader technical community on globalization topics, and I’m pleased and proud to be able to present this world-wide overview of progress in our exciting field on behalf of our skilled and hard-working authors and volunteers,” Paul Crump, Senior Guest Editor from Ferdinand-Braun-Institut Berlin, Germany, Senior Editor of IEEE Photonics Journal, and IEEE Photonics Globalization Committee Chair, 2021-2023.

Photonics is a global field in which highly interconnected, multinational, and multicultural technical teams work together to address challenges in engineering and research. Rapid growth, new discoveries, and novel applications with high societal impact are emerging across the globe and from different cultural environments, with much exciting progress in photonics taking place in regions outside of the highly industrialized countries. Additionally, there is a large global cadre of students eager to be the next generation of photonics engineers and scientists, who are willing to contribute to the continued growth of the field. 

Highlighted in this special issue are invited papers that focus on advances in photonics taking place in regions of special interest to the Society’s Globalization Committee. The papers also emphasize how the photonics field in general, as well as the engineers and scientists in both emerging and more established regions, can benefit from closer cooperation, exchanges, and partnerships.

“Optics and photonics continue to be exciting and vibrant technical fields with significant and positive global impact. I am grateful to the IEEE Photonics Society for publishing this special issue, which highlights the excellent contributions from all over the world to the optics and photonics community,” Carmiña Londono, Guest Editor, Emeritus of the National Science Foundation, and IEEE Photonics Globalization Committee Chair, 2024-2026.

The IEEE Photonics Globalization Committee, which supported the curation of this special issue along with the IEEE Photonics Journal’s Editorial Board, ensures that its members have global representation in all aspects of the organization. Its leadership looks at similarities, differences, and assets of the varying IEEE designated regions and identifies geographical areas where photonic trends and membership interests are growing. 

The invited papers in this special issue present an overview of photonics developments for the regions of Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, India, and China; all of which are designated regions of special interest established by the IEEE Photonics Globalization Committee.

“The Special Issue on Globalization in Photonics demonstrates the breadth and depth of the Photonics research community worldwide, enlightening our community about opportunities for engagement and collaboration, striving to address global challenges,” Fatima Garcia-Gunning, Guest Editor from Tyndall National Institute, Ireland, and IEEE Photonics Vice-President of Membership, 2021-2023.

Examples of the paper titles included, are: “Optical Frequency Comb Generation and Further Advances from the Photonics Community in Serbia and Western Balkans” (Gvozdić, Dejan; Krstić, Marko; Crnjanski, Jasna); “Photonics in a time of rapid growth: Silicon Based Optoelectronics in China” (Zhou, Zhiping; Chen, Weibiao; He, Xiwen; Ma, Deyue; and “Advancements in Optical Communication Research: A Review of India’s Progress” (Venkitesh, Deepa; Mir, Sameer Ahmad; Singh, Mandeep; Chatterjee, Debanuj; Yadav, Suchita; Sunder, Sugeet; Singh, Karamdeep; Krishna, Mrudula).

To learn more about this special issue, visit: 

https://ieeephotonics.org/special_issues/globalization-in-photonics-special-issue