UNESCO has declared 2015 the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL2015) and many events are planned. In this video, the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) has made an early and engaging contribution to the cause of educating and inspiring people not familiar with light-based technologies:
Also, as a warmup to IYL2015, October 21, 2014 has been declared the Day of Photonics, recognizing October 21, 1983, when the General Conference of Weights And Measures adopted the value of 299,792.458 km/s for the speed of light. On the anniversary, over 100 activities will be organized in more than 30 countries and encompass all kinds of demonstrations and discussions on the impact of photonics on daily life. More at: www.day-of-photonics.org.
Conard Holton
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.