Optical Processor Focuses on Deepfake Videos
Fast and accurate system identifies manipulated and AI-generated videos in parallel streams.
05 October 2026
Frequency Combs for Integrated Photonics
FiO plenary speaker Alexander Gaeta spoke with OPN about implementing this technology for commercial applications.
01 October 2026
Optogenetics Pioneers Win 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are recognized for discoveries involving light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
05 October 2026
Shaped Light Switches Magnetic Information
New work could lead to optical switches more than three orders of magnitude faster than magnetic ones.
07 October 2026
All-Optical Control of Metasurface Functionality
Researchers leverage the versatility of liquid crystals to enable the dynamic modulation of a nonlinear platform.
09 October 2026
A tea bag’s thin plastic wrapper reveals polarimetric patterns when placed between a computer monitor and a polarized sunglass lens.
09 October 2026
October 2026 Issue
LATEST NEWS
All-Optical Control of Metasurface Functionality
Researchers leverage the versatility of liquid crystals to enable the dynamic modulation of a nonlinear platform.
09 October 2026
Shaped Light Switches Magnetic Information
New work could lead to optical switches more than three orders of magnitude faster than magnetic ones.
07 October 2026
Optical Processor Focuses on Deepfake Videos
Fast and accurate system identifies manipulated and AI-generated videos in parallel streams.
05 October 2026
Optogenetics Pioneers Win 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are recognized for discoveries involving light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
05 October 2026
LITILIT Scales up Femtosecond-laser Production in Lithuania
New factory in Vilnius will increase production capacity as ultrafast lasers move into high-volume industrial applications.
02 October 2026EDITOR'S PICKS
Optogenetics: Controlling Neurons with Photons
An advancing field of neuroscience uses light to understand how the brain works and to create new tools to treat disease.
01 April 2018
A look at women who have received the Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine.
01 September 2021
Course-Correcting a Career in Optics
An optical engineer at a lidar startup relates career advice he learned while navigating from academia to industry.
01 March 2021
The protostar within the dark cloud L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
01 January 2023
Colors in Polarized Light
A tea bag’s thin plastic wrapper reveals polarimetric patterns when placed between a computer monitor and a polarized sunglass lens.
09 October 2026
On Becoming A Researcher
Technical knowledge is only part of what you learn in graduate school—the real metamorphosis is in your autonomy.
01 October 2026
Zooming in on the Laser Market
Quantifying the overall market is helpful, but the details are more interesting.
01 October 2026CAREERS
Journeys in Optics: Thomas Luhmann
Thomas Luhmann discusses collaborating on an award-winning textbook, his career in photogrammetry and founding an institute at his university.
08 October 2026
Do Biographies of Scientists Inspire Children?
Children’s books about the careers of famous scientists may contain inadvertently discouraging messaging.
17 August 2026
A Mental Health Crisis in Academia?
New meta-analysis suggests that one in three early-career researchers experience elevated psychological distress.
28 July 2026
Journeys in Optics: Andrea Pacheco
Andrea Pacheco talks about why she became a physicist, the importance of collaboration, and balancing her academic career with family life.
13 July 2026
Journeys in Optics: Václav Hanus
Václav Hanus discusses the twists and turns in the path he took to a career in ultrafast lasers—and his work on science-themed music.
15 May 2026