Summit to Show That Top Megatrends Depend on Photonics

Later this month, one of Europe’s most prominent gatherings of photonics leaders will highlight the importance of light technologies in digitization megatrends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous vehicles.

The annual think tank summit, entitled “Europe‘s Age of Light: How Photonics Will Power Growth and Innovation,” will bring experts together to discuss the opportunities that lie ahead in photonics research and innovation for applied fields such as lasers, optical components, sensors, network components, LEDs, AI, and quantum technologies.

The two-day Photonics PPP (Public Private Partnership) Annual Meeting talks will highlight unlocking the potential that light technologies can offer, and focus on the strategic development for the missions of the PPP in “Horizon Europe,” the Research and Innovation Framework Program that goes beyond “Horizon 2020.”

Bernd Schulte and Photonics²¹ Vice President Giorgio Anania will open the summit with a formal address at the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels March 27 with a discussion on opportunities and challenges for photonics technologies over the next decade.

Carl Buhr, the European Commission’s deputy head of cabinet, will deliver the keynote address. Other notable speakers will include 2018 Nobel Prize winner professor Gérard Mourou, who earned the distinction for the invention of “chirped pulse amplification,” a technique used to create ultrashort-pulse, very high-intensity petawatt laser pulses.

In addition, Stefan Traeger, chairman of the executive board of JENOPTIK AG, will provide a photonics industry view and discuss the future developments and challenges for light technologies.

Attendees can register for photonics workshops on a variety of themes, including Information and Communication, Industrial Manufacturing and Quality, Life Sciences and Health, Emerging Lighting, Electronics and Displays, Security, Metrology and Sensors, Design and Manufacturing of Components and Systems, Photonics Research, Education and Training, Automotive and Transport, and Agriculture and Food.