IEEE Lasers & Electro-Optics Society History
Founded in 1965 as the the Quantum Electronics Council, which became the Quantum Electronics and Applications Society in 1977, and the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society in 1985, the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) has officially changed its name to the IEEE Photonics Society as of February 2009. 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.
