Meetings in Poland focus on quantum, sensing and security

04 Sep 2017

SPIE photonics conferences in Warsaw expect at least 1,000 engineers, scientists, policy makers, and program managers from 40 countries.

Around 1,000 engineers, scientists, policy makers, and program managers from more than 40 countries are expected to participate in the SPIE Remote Sensing and SPIE Security and Defense conference, which takes place in in Warsaw, Poland, between 11–14 September.

The co-located conferences are sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Highlights among more than 800 talks in 22 conferences will include reports on remote sensing technologies for agriculture and industry and quantum technologies for secure communications and information processing.

Military plenaries

A joint plenary session will feature: Krzysztof Kopczynski, head of research at the Institute of Optoelectronics at the Military University of Technology, Warsaw; Molly Brown, associate research professor at the University of Maryland and Chief Science Officer of 6th Grain Global; and Antoni Rogalski, of the Military University of Technology. Complete information about the event is on the SPIE website.

Kopczynski has led a number of national and international projects using optoelectronic methods and LiDAR systems for high-energy laser weapons and advanced helmet protection and for the identification of biological contaminants. He will discuss optoelectronics developments in Poland for defense and security.

Brown, a former NASA scientist, was the lead author of a 2015 climate assessment report published by the US Department of Agriculture entitled Climate Change, Global Food Security, and the US Food System. She will describe how remote-sensing data and weather information can be combined with household survey and consumption information to better understand the impact of environmental and climate change on food security outcomes.

Rogalski's topic will be infrared detectors. During the course of his career, Rogalski has made pioneering contributions in the theory, design, and technology of many types of IR detectors.

The industry session will include an overview of funding in Europe, including an update on the MIRPHAB pilot line project (Mid InfraRed PHotonics devices fABrication for chemical sensing and spectroscopic applications). Talks will also provide insight into the market for mid-IR sensing and imaging technologies, recent advances in night-vision systems, trends in commercial applications of gallium nitride lasers, and other dual-use technologies.

Industry sessions

Speakers at the industry will include:

• Johannes Koeth, CEO of nanoplus
• Sergio Nicoletti of CEA-Leti
• Krzysztof Chrzanowski, director of Inframet
• Thierry Robin of Tematys
• Roland Schwarz, senior research assistant at RIEGL
• Stephen Najda, vice president of business development at TopGaN Lasers
• Adam Piotrowski and Józef Piotrowski of VIGO Systems

The associated exhibition runs 12 and 13 September, 2017, and will feature 40 suppliers of the latest technology innovations in detectors and sensors as well as lasers and imaging equipment for the security and defense community, along with comprehensive coverage of sensor systems, data analysis, and satellite platforms for remote sensing.

Earth observation

SPIE Remote Sensing will have more than 600 presentations on the latest systems, technologies, and applications for earth observation. Topics include hyperspectral sensing, next-generation satellites, image and signal processing, and a host of technologies for remote sensing of the oceans, ecosystems, urban environments, and agricultural regions.

A conference on remote sensing for agriculture, ecosystems, and hydrology will cover applications in forecasting weather and increasing agricultural yields. Applications for remote sensing also include water quality measurements, energy conservation, and emergency responses to floods, fires, droughts, and other disasters.

Key speakers include: Klaus Schäfer of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research; Christopher Neale, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and Stanislaw Lewinski, Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, chair SPIE Remote Sensing.

Security and defense

Eleven conferences at SPIE Security and Defence will cover the latest developments in optical materials, data and signal analysis, quantum information science, optronics, hyperspectral sensing, and technologies for millimeter wave and terahertz sensors.Several joint sessions are planned, including one on components and technologies for quantum devices and another on quantum metrology, sensing, and imaging. Highlights include:

• Rogalski will chair a session in the Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems conference on electro-optical and infrared technology in Poland featuring eight papers on sensing and detector technology.
• Piotr Szynkarczyk of the Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements will chair a session in the Counterterrorism, Crime Fighting, Forensics and Surveillance conference on autonomous sensors and robots for security and surveillance purposes.

Chairs for SPIE Security and Defence are Ric Schleijpen of TNO Defence, Security and Safety; Karin Stein of the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB; and Jan Jabczyński of the Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology.