Our panel of editors reviewed more than 150 research summaries from scientists from around the world. They selected for publication 30 stories that they felt most clearly communicated breakthroughs of interest to the optics community. Some of the summaries have related multimedia that you can access at www.osa-opn.org/optics-in-2016. Thanks to all who submitted summaries as well as to our panel of guest editors: Robert D. Guenther, the panel chair, and guest editors Svetlana Boriskina, Mihaela Dinu, Alexandre Fong, Andrew Forbes, Nicholas J. Frigo, G. Groot Gregory, Brooke Hester, Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, Nick Lambert, Arlene Smith, Yanina Shevchenko, Zuleykhan Tomova and Stephen R. Wilk.
Optical Manipulation
Rotating micro-objects with ordinary light; “tug-of-war” optical tweezers for studying bacterial biofilms
Lasers
OAM microlasers; integrated lasers for silicon photonics; understanding random-laser behavior; controlling spatial coherence
Imaging
Design platform for “smart” cameras; high-resolution molecular imaging; improving optical imaging of embryos; molecular order in cells
Microscopy
Toward super-resolved deep-tissue imaging; widefield lensless endoscopy; neural activity in 3-D
Solar Energy
Photoluminescent heat harvesting to boost power conversion
Quantum Optics
Sources of single and zero-area photons; on-chip quantum frequency combs; quantum formalisms for light-beam optics
Non-Reciprocal Devices
Integrating isolators, circulators and other devices
Optical Instruments
Non-dispersive real-time Fourier transformation; tracking hidden objects; plasmon-assisted printing
Nano-Optics
Single-molecule detection; multitasking geometric-phase metasurfaces
Diffractive Optics
Ultra-broadband focusing with diffractive flat lenses
Metamaterials
Dielectric metamaterials from III-V semiconductors; coordinate-based dielectric waveguide design; coding metamaterials