Episodes
129
Latest episode
Oct 2026
Language
EN
Welcome to Laser Focus World’s Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast, produced by Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B. Here, we take a deep dive into the fascinating world of photonics and optics. With a legacy dating back to 1965, Laser Focus World has been a trusted source for comprehensive global coverage of technologies, applications, and markets in these dynamic fields. Following the Photons is an extension of that legacy. This podcast — hosted by Justine Murphy, an editor with Laser Focus World and multimedia director of Endeavor Business Media’s Digital Infrastructure group — features interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey in photonics, this podcast is your go-to resource for staying informed and inspired. Tune in and stay laser-focused on the future of light-based technologies.
This episode highlights the last of the great interviews Host Justine Murphy did during the recent COMSOL Conference. She talked with Michael Kalin, a senior mechanical engineer at nLight, as well as Pavel Terekhov, a postdoctoral researcher at NIST.
This episode features Andrew Strikwerda, a senior applications manager at COMSOL. He talked recently with Host Justine Murphy during the COMSOL Conference Boston 2026 about some exciting things happening at COMSOL, including the release of its enhanced Multiphysics platform. They also discussed his research background and how that translates to his current work, and he offered some thoughts on the future.
This episode features Dan Cherowbrier, CTO of Formula E, the U.K.-based all-electric car racing series. Host Justine Murphy talked with him during the COMSOL Conference 2026 Boston about the growing role of optics in auto racing, and about Formula E's multiphysics partnership with industry giant COMSOL.
In this second installment of our Expert Insights series, Dr. Yuping Huang, CEO and chairman of Quantum Computing Incorporated, discusses the growing alliance between quantum computing and classical photonics.
From Nobel Prize winners to Innovators Awards to PhotonicsNXT, this episode features a roundup of some of the amazing things happening in photonics!
This episode features Eric Diebold, vice president and general manager for Instrumentation, Software, and Informatics at Waters Biosciences. He was also founder and CEO of Omega Biosystems, a startup based on his postdoctoral research on high-speed imaging flow cytometry. He talked recently with Host Justine Murphy about Waters Biosciences and his role there, the innovations he and his team have led, and what the future holds for the bio realm.
Here’s the second of a two-part series featuring Host Justine Murphy's chat with Dr. Garrett Cole, an associate professor and the Nelson E. Claytor Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences. In this episode, he talks about his numerous accomplishments and accolades, he reflects on his career and lessons learned along the way, and he offers some advice and insight for the next generation researchers and entrepreneurs.
Space coatings don't get a second chance. There's no sending a satellite back to Earth to fix an underperforming mirror or filter, so every coating has to be built, documented, and qualified to hold its optical and mechanical performance for the entire mission—in vacuum, through thermal cycling, through atomic oxygen exposure in low Earth orbit. That means the coating stack changes with the job: dielectric-enhanced aluminum or silver for UV and visible mirrors, protected gold or silver for near-IR, and gold for long-wave IR thermal imaging. Filters and AR coatings get the same rigor, tested in sequence against ASTM, ISO, and MIL specs before anything is cleared for flight. With satellites now losing orbital lifespan faster than expected due to an intense solar cycle, lighter, more durable coatings matter more than ever. Host Justine Murphy talked all about it recently with Matthew Balkonis, senior account manager at precision optical components specialist Omega Optical, and Joe Howe, Omega's Industrial/Semiconductor/MilAero sales director—both experts in this sector who qualify coatings for full-mission performance.
This first of a two-part episode features Dr. Garrett Cole, an associate professor and the Nelson E. Claytor Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences. He has numerous accolades under this belt, experience as an entrepreneur in startups and major corporations, and has spent years as a researcher and applied scientist, including at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. In this fun, interesting, and rather enlightening talk with Host Justine Murphy, he discusses his current role in academia, his several decades in the industry, and the unconventional path that led him here.
Photonics is undergoing the same transformation the semiconductor industry experienced decades ago; evolving from specialized, low-volume manufacturing into standardized, highly automated, high-volume production. In this episode, PI Physik's Nikta Jalayer explores how precision motion, intelligent alignment, and automation technologies are enabling that transition by transforming photonics manufacturing from a serial, labor-intensive process into a highly automated, high-throughput production environment, making large-scale deployment of optical interconnects both practical and economically viable.
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