APOMA Colorado Tech Workshop

The American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association (APOMA) represents a broad constituency of precision optics manufacturers and the supporting industry along with academic associates whose mutual interest is the advancement and expansion of optics manufacturing and technology.  

In addition to meetings during tradeshows, APOMA hosts a biennial workshop for members to showcase the latest techniques and advancements for optical manufacturing. For November 2022, the Colorado Tech Workshop will take place in Boulder and will feature two days of presentations covering ISO 10110 requirements, sub-aperture polishing, aspherical lens generation, and ITAR regulations, among other topics.  

The goal of the workshop is to present a forum to share valuable insights from the brightest minds in the optics and photonics industry. For example, attendees will hear from Tayyab Suratwala, Program Director for Optics and Materials Science & Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Labs who will discusses “Useful Rules of Thumb in Optical Fabrication.” With a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the U. of Arizona, Dr. Suratwala’s research interests include grinding and polishing, deterministic finishing, laser damage initiation and growth, chemical and thermal-based mitigation of damage precursors, fracture behavior in glasses and ceramics, glass chemistry, and optical properties of glasses. He has 100+ peer reviewed publications including 8 patents/patent applications, 4 R&D100 awards, and 2 books/book chapters (including Materials Science & Technology of Optical Fabrication). 

This year’s location, Boulder, was chosen to highlight the strong industries of aerospace, defense, optics, and the photonics within Colorado community. Workshop attendees will also tour the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST Boulder provides new capabilities for precisely measuring the structure and chemical composition of materials at sub-nanometer scales, and for studying and creating technologically important materials and devices at the atomic level.

The Lab tours will cover the laser metrology group, time scale/transfer & atomic clock, EUV tomography, and advanced 3D printing of hard and soft materials.  

Always mobile, past APOMA workshops have taken place in northern California to tour Lawrence Livermore National Labs and Tuscon to tour the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the U. of Arizona.  

For more information about the American Precision Optics Manufacturing Association please visit APOMA.org.