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AGENDA & PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS |
Conference Co-Chairs: Shelby Ament, PhD, Principal Optical Engineer, Arizona Optical Metrology & Lukas Gruber, PhD, Director, Business Development, Leonardo Electronics US |
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| Last updated: 15 January 2026
Schedule subject to change. |
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LOCATION: GRAND CHALLENGES RESEARCH BUILDING |
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| 8:00 — 8:30 am Registration & Coffee |
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OPENING SESSION
8:30 am — 8:45 am Welcome and opening remarks by conference Co-Chairs, Dr. Shelby Ament and Dr. Lukas Gruber, with remarks from special guests, including Optics Valley Chair, Katie Schwertz and Dean of the University of Arizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences, Dr. Brian Anderson. |
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| BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
Chaired by Travis Sawyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Optical Sciences, Director of Graduate Studies, Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona |
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| 8:45 am — 9:05 am [BIO-01] Advancing Biomedical Research through Mid-Infrared Photothermal Microscopy Presenter: Yeran Bai, Assistant Professor, the University of Arizona |
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| 9:05 — 9:25 am [BIO-02] Gradient-Based Channelized Ideal Observers for Objective Assessment of Biomedical Imaging Systems Presenter: Weimin Zhou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Arizona |
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| 9:25 — 9:40 am Networking & Coffee Break |
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| 9:40 — 9:45 am Remarks from Pima Community College Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey P. Nasse, Chancellor |
| 9:45 — 9:50 am Remarks from the University of Arizona Office of Research and Partnerships Presenter: Linda Bixby, Chief Research Partnerships Officer |
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| 10:10 — 10:30 am [BIO-03] Optical Coherence Elastography for Ex Vivo Detection of Human Gastric Cancer and Dysplasia Presenter: Alana Gonzales, PhD Student, University of Arizona Optical Sciences |
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| 10:30 — 10:50 am [BIO-04] Portable Confocal Microscope: A Low-Cost and Non-Invasive Clinical Diagnostic Tool Presenter: Momoka Sugimura, PhD Candidate, University of Arizona |
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| 10:50 — 11:10 am [BIO-05] Multiphoton Microscopy Using a Green Femtosecond Laser Presenter: Lam T. Nguyen, Graduate Researcher, Wyant College of Optical Science, University of Arizona |
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| 11:10 — 11:30 am University-Industry Collaboration in the Montana Optics Ecosystem Presenter: Joe Shaw, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Optical Technology Center at Montana State University |
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| 11:30 am — 12:15 pm Lunch & Networking |
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| PHOTONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND SENSORS
Chaired by Robert Norwood, PhD, Professor, Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona |
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| 12:15 — 12:35 pm [PIC-01] Co-Packaged Optics Scaling with Advanced Packaging Presenter: Kumar Abhishek Singh, Principal Engineer, Intel Corporation |
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| 12:35 — 12:55 pm [PIC-02] Beam and Image Steering with MEMS SLMs for Display, LiDAR, and Communication Presenter: Yuzuru Takashima, Professor, College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona |
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| 1:15 — 1:35 pm [PIC-03] Design-for-Test Architectures and Techniques for Silicon Photonic Circuits Presenter: Pratishtha Agnihotri, Assistant Research Technologist, Arizona State University |
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| 1:35 — 1:55 pm [PIC-04] Next Generation Commodity and Precision Plastic Optics from Sulfur Petrochemicals Presenter: Jeffrey Pyun, Professor, University of Arizona |
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| 1:55 — 2:15 pm [PIC-05] Phase-Change Material Integration on SAW Delay Lines for Reconfigurable Topological Acoustic RF Devices Presenter: Howard Yawit, University of Arizona |
| [PIC-06] High Performance Microwave Photonic Systems Using Hybrid Integration Between Low Loss Silicon Nitride and InP Presenter: Robert Grootjans, MSc., LioniX International BV |
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| 2:15 — 2:30 pm Networking & Coffee Break |
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| 2:30 — 3:10 pm Special Session: Public Policy Updates Presenter: Jennifer O'Bryan, Government Affairs Director, SPIE |
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| QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Chaired by Daniel Soh, PhD, Associate Professor, Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona |
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| 3:10 — 3:50 pm [QUA-01] KEYNOTE All-CMOS Fabricated Photonic Integrated Circuits for Utility Scale Quantum Information Processing with Atomic Qubits Presenter: Matt Eichenfield, SPIE Endowed Professor, University of Arizona |
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| 3:50 — 4:10 pm [QUA-02] Heralded Quantum State Synthesis Using Brillouin Optomechanics Presenter: Ryan Behunin, Associate Professor, Northern Arizona University |
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| 4:30 — 4:50 pm [QUA-03] Scaling Up Trapped-Ion Quantum Processors with Integrated Photonics Presenter: Sara Campbell, Lead Physicist, Quantinuum |
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| 4:50 — 5:10 pm [QUA-04] Quantum Amplification Through Modulated Squeezing Presenter: Christian Arenz, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University |
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| 5:10 — 5:15 pm Closing Remarks by Karla Morales, Vice President, Southern Arizona Regional Office, Arizona Technology Council |
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| 5:30 — 7:30 pm Welcome Reception & After5 Mixer, Grand Challenges Research Building Co-hosted by the New Frontiers of Sound Science and Technology Center (NewFoS) and the Arizona Technology Council, this special reception brings together global attendees from Arizona Photonics Days, pioneers in topological acoustics, and local Tucson and Phoenix industry leaders. Interested in joining us? It's included with your Arizona Photonics Days registration — all others must register here. |
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LOCATION: GRAND CHALLENGES RESEARCH BUILDING |
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| 8:00 — 8:30 am Registration & Coffee |
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GENERAL SESSION
8:30 — 8:45 am Hosted by conference Co-Chairs, Dr. Shelby Ament and Dr. Lukas Gruber, with remarks from special guests, including Kevin O'Shea, Arizona Commerce Authority. |
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| LASER TECHNOLOGY
Chaired by Clifford Headley, PhD, Director, Fiber Systems Engineering, Leonardo Electronics US |
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| 8:45 — 9:05 am [LAS-01] High Energy Laser (HEL) Perspectives from a Recent Government Leader and Current Academic Researcher Presenter: Mark F. Spencer, Professor of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona |
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| 9:05 — 9:25 am [LAS-02] III-V Laser Diodes: Fundamentals, Applications and the Road Ahead Presenter: Mark Crowley, Ph.D., Director of Device Technology, Leonardo Electronics US |
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| 9:50 — 10:10 am Networking & Coffee Break |
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| 10:10 — 10:30 am [LAS-03] Extreme Photonics Applications Centre: A 10 Hz, PW-Class Facility Enabled by a High-Energy DPSSL Pump Presenter: Gary Quinn, EngD, Senior Laser Scientist, Central Laser Facility, STFC |
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| 10:30 — 10:50 am [LAS-04] Ultrafast Driver for inertial Fusion Energy Presenter: Erhard Gaul, Director for Lasers, Marvel Fusion |
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| 11:30 am— 12:15 pm Lunch & Networking |
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| METROLOGY AND SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
Chaired by Joanna Schmit, PhD, Principal Optical Engineer, 4D Technology Corporation |
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| 12:15 — 12:35 pm [METR-01] Spatial Integration Method for a Heterodyne Lateral Shearing Interferometer with Sub-Nanometer Resolution of Aspheric Surfaces Presenter: Eric Goodwin, Fellow, Nikon Research Corporation of America (NRCA) |
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| 12:35 — 12:55 pm [METR-02] iPhone-based 3D Reconstruction System through IMU-Aided Structure-from-Motion for Manufacturing Inspection Presenter: Vikrant Deo, Graduate Research Associate, Arizona State University |
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| 12:55 — 1:15 pm [METR-03] From Surfaces to Systems: Advanced Applications of CGHs Presenter: Christine Muccianti, Ph.D., Applications Engineer, Arizona Optical Metrology, LLC |
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| 1:40 — 2:00 pm [METR-04] The Structured Light Autocollimator: Next-Generation Metrology Built on a Classical Tool Presenter: Dr. Joel Berkson, President, Fringe Metrology |
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| 2:00 — 2:20 pm [METR-05] Bessel Beam vs Rotary Axis Presenter: Robert Parks, President, Optical Perspectives Group |
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| 2:20 — 2:40 pm [METR-06] Model-Based Design and Virtual Prototyping for Optical Inspection Systems Presenter: Matt Novak, Customer Success Manager, Keysight ODE | DES |
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| 2:40 — 3:00 pm Networking & Coffee Break |
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| ASTRONOMY
Chaired by Richard Green, PhD, Assistant Director for Government Relations, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona |
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| 3:00 — 3:30 pm [AST-01] KEYNOTE The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Presenter: Dr. Arjun Dey, NSF's NOIRLab |
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| 3:30 — 3:50 pm [AST-02] Constellation of SmallSats with FUV and NUV Sensors to Map the Diffuse Gas Around Galaxies with Low-Cost Replicated Systems Presenter: Dr. Aafaque Khan, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona |
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| 4:15 — 4:35 pm [AST-03] Detecting Exoplanets in the Long Wavelength Infrared Presenter: Brittany Miles, Assistant Professor, University of Arizona |
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| 4:35 — 4:55 pm [AST-04] Real-Time Deep Neural Network Video Processing for Single-Shot RSO Detection, Classification, and Localization via Ellipse Regression Presenter: Will Bidle, Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Rocket Lab |
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4:55 — 5:00 pm
Closing remarks given by Co-Chairs, Dr. Shelby Ament and Dr. Lukas Gruber |
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| 5:15 — 6:45 pm Networking Reception, The Sands Club, 565 N Cherry Ave, Floor 5 Hosted by The Chamber of Southern Arizona, join us in the Arizona Football Stadium for a community reception with Tucson's business and regional leaders. Discover what makes Southern Arizona a place where global photonics companies can launch, scale, and stay. Included with your Arizona Photonics Days registration. |
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UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CAMPUS |
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| 8:30 am — 12:00 pm Arizona Photonics Days 2026 Tours University of Arizona campus |
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THANK YOU TO OUR APD 2026 SPONSORS! |
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| University of Arizona Grand Challenges Building 750 N Cherry Ave Tucson, AZ 85719 |
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