IEEE Lasers & Electro-Optics Society History

The IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) has officially changed its name to the IEEE Photonics Society. The new name reflects the expanding applications associated with the Society's field of interest and better represents its vision, mission and scope. Photonics has become  widely used to describe the broad field of research and applications  relating to the generation, control and detection of light, including optical fiber communications, lasers, CDs, DVDs, supermarket scanners and digital cameras.

The name change followed a survey of current Society members who agreed that "photonics" better reflected their field of work. Photonics has become widely used to describe the broad field of research and applications relating to the generation, control and detection of light.
Final approval was given at the February 2009 IEEE Board of Directors meeting.

Link to IEEE Photonics Society