Dr Chao He chairs Oxford International Conference on Advanced Optics and Photonics

The first Oxford International Conference on Advanced Optics and Photonics (OIC) took place from 1–5 July 2024 at St John’s College. The conference was hosted by the Department's Vectorial Optics and Photonics (VOP) group (led by Dr Chao He, Junior Research Fellow at St John's), and was organised in collaboration with the College and the journal Light: Science & Applications (Springer Nature).

The conference brought together leading experts from different research areas, focusing on important and current topics in optics and photonics. The aim of the conference was to showcase the latest advancements in a diverse range of topics, to discuss current challenges, and to enhance collaboration among optical scientists and photonics experts worldwide. The conference was chaired by Dr Chao He, and co-chaired by Professor Martin Booth and Professor Stephen Morris.

Dr He comments: ‘The initial idea for the conference stemmed from a desire between myself and my VOP team to organise a workshop and invite external optics experts to share their world-leading research, while also showcasing and discussing the VOP group’s latest advances in vectorial optics. As invitations were extended, the event evolved into a conference, with confirmations from over forty experts in optics and photonics from leading universities and research institutions worldwide, as well as many renowned academicians, and Editors-in-Chief of top international optics journals including Nature Photonics, Light: Science & Applications and Advanced Photonics."

He adds, "We are honoured that this conference has been such a success. We are also delighted to report that our conference has been selected as a highlighted academic event by UNESCO's International Day of Light. OIC not only stands for ‘Oxford International Conference’, but also belongs to hidden words within ‘Optics’ and ‘Photonics’, and creates the phrase ‘Oh, I see’ – because through light, we see ourselves, we see the world, we see you all. These were my original intentions when designing the conference abbreviation as OIC."

"In the future, our VOP group will continue to drive cutting-edge scientific research in optics and optoelectronics, to organise international academic activities, and to contribute to national and international academic exchanges based here in Oxford. We are on the move!"