Optica (founded as The Optical Society of America (OSA), later TheOptical Society) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in
optics and
photonics. It publishes
journals, organizes
conferences and
exhibitions, and carries out charitable activities. It currently has about 488,000 customers in 183 countries, including nearly 300 companies.
History
Optica was founded in 1916 as the "Optical Society of America", under the leadership of
Perley G. Nutting,[3] with 30 optical scientists and instrument makers based in Rochester, New York. It soon published its first journal of research results and established an annual meeting.[4][5] The first local section was established in
Rochester, New York, in 1916 and the Journal of the Optical Society of America was created in 1918.[5] The first series of joint meetings with the
American Physical Society was in 1918.[5]
In 2008 it changed its name to The Optical Society (OSA).[6] In September 2021, the organization's name changed to Optica, in reference to the organization's
journal by the same name and geographic neutrality to reflect the society’s global membership.[7]
Optica Publishing Group is Optica’s scientific publishing platform, which publishes peer-reviewed optics and photonics research. Optica Publishing Group’s portfolio consists of 20 publications.[8]
Optical Materials Express,
ISSN2159-3930; 2011–present - An open access journal covering advances in novel optical materials, their properties, modeling, synthesis and fabrication techniques.
Optics Letters,
ISSN0146-9592 (print);
ISSN1539-4794 (online); 1977–present - Providing rapid publication of short papers in all fields of optical science and technology.
Journal of Optical Communications and Networking, 2009–present. Jointly published by OSA and
IEEE. Published from 2002 to 2009 as Journal of Optical Networking.
Photonics Research, 2013–present. Jointly published by OSA and Chinese Laser Press.
Magazine
Optics and Photonics News,
ISSN 1047-6938; 1975–present. Publishes monthly news for recent developments in optics on topics related to science and society, education, technology, and business.
Legacy journals
Journal of Display Technology, 2005–2016. Jointly published by OSA and IEEE. Available online.
Journal of Optical Networking, 2002–2009. Published by OSA. Available online.
Journal of Optical Society of Korea, 2007–2016. Published by the Optical Society of Korea. Available online.
OSA Continuum, 2018–2021. Published by Optica. Available online.
Optics News, 1975–1989. Published by Optica. Available online.
Recognitions
Optica presents awards and honors, including
Optica Fellow, Honorary Membership, and Awards/Medals. Optica's awards and medals program is endowed through the Optica Foundation, and includes more than 20 named awards; among them are the following:[11]
The
Inter-Society Color Council records at
Hagley Museum and Library (contain materials from the Optical Society of America including annual meeting programs, reports issued by the Committee on Colorimetry, and issues of the Society's official publication, the Journal of the Optical Society of America.)