New world, old world, web site redesigns

Conard Holton Associate Publisher, Editor in Chief Laser Focus World cholton@pennwell.com

The Laser Focus World web site, along with our companion sites OptoIQ, BioOptics World, and Industrial Laser Solutions, have undergone a redesign that will increase the value and improve the usability of the technical and business information we provide. The changes are both clearly visible on the sites and significant behind the scenes in how the sites perform. Please let me know what you think of the changes.

These web sites are not the only new development. After 18 years at Laser Focus World, editor in chief Steve Anderson has left to pursue an opportunity with SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. I have assumed his role with a deep respect for the fact that Laser Focus World has a 45-year history as a valued resource for the global photonics community.

I’ve been in the photonics field for 20 years and worked with Laser Focus World since 1997. During that time I was also the editor of WDM Solutions during the telecom boom and, most recently, Vision Systems Design. In addition to Steve Anderson, I’ve had the privilege of working with leaders of Laser Focus World such as Heather Messenger and Jeffrey Bairstow, who currently contributes the back page column of the magazine.

I will share posting to this blog with my colleagues Gail Overton and John Wallace, both senior editors of longstanding at Laser Focus World. Managing editor Carrie Meadows and associate editor Lee Mather may not be so visible but they make much of what we produce possible. All of us look forward to continuing our work with the photonics community and to exploring new avenues of communication.