Optics Under the Northern Light

On Friday, 04 september 2026

Optics Under the Northern Light: Highlights from EOSAM 2026

The European Optical Society Annual Meeting (EOSAM) 2026 brought the optics and photonics community together in Tampere, Finland, from 24–28 August 2026, for a week filled with scientific exchange, inspiring discussions, new connections and memorable moments.

Organized by the European Optical Society (EOS) in close collaboration with Photonics Finland, Tampere University, and the PREIN Flagship, EOSAM 2026 welcomed 508 participants from 33 countries to Tampere. The meeting marked a particularly special year for EOS, celebrating 35 years since the creation of the European Optical Society and 20 years of EOSAM as an annual platform for the optics and photonics community.

The conference was chaired by General Chairs Goëry Genty and Juha Toivonen of Tampere University, together with Program Chairs Jyrki Saarinen (University of Eastern Finland) and Ignacio Moreno (EOS President). As always, the EOS Office, led by Executive Director Elina Koistinen, coordinated the meeting from start to finish, with the local team at Tampere University, Kristiina Pispala and Tea Vellamo, with the support of Photonics Finland ensuring every detail was in place. A big thank you also goes to the many student volunteers from Tampere University, whose energy and hard work behind the scenes helped everything run so smoothly.

A Week Full of Science and Discovery

From the opening sessions to the closing ceremony, EOSAM 2026 offered a comprehensive scientific programme spanning a broad range of topics across optics and photonics.

The programme featured eight Topical Meetings, covering areas including:

The meeting also featured focused sessions providing opportunities to explore specialized research directions in greater depth on:

Across the week, the program included 44 invited talks, 223 oral presentations and 112 posters, presented across two poster sessions.

As in previous editions, EOS offered all registered attendees a full day of tutorials ahead of the official opening. Nine speakers took the stage on Monday, covering everything from the conference's core scientific themes to practical skills for researchers: Patricia Segonds, Giulio Cerullo, Massimo Giudici, Anna Peacock, Jacopo Bertolotti, Ville Hevonkorpi, Adriana Canales, and Ming-Jun Li shared their expertise across topics central to the program, while Karolina Wojtczak rounded out the day with a hands-on guide to scientific writing and publishing. A warm thank you to each of them for kicking off the week on such a strong note.

The program was further enriched by a roundtable on bringing photonics research from the lab to industrial deployment, a podium session on optics and photonics education across the EU, the Industrial Mastering of Optical Technologies and Systems (IMOTS) sessions, a dedicated session fostering research collaboration between Europe and Korea, and the Early-Stage Researcher Session (ESRS), a dedicated platform for researchers at the beginning of their careers to present their work and exchange experiences with their peers.

The roundtable sessions included in the program were:

From Applied Research to Industrial Deployment: Challenges and Opportunities for Photonics in Demanding Application Fields, with panelists Florent Colas (Thales France), Aleksi Leinonen (VTT), Antti Härkönen (Picophotonics), and Ville Polojärvi (Winse Power), moderated by Jyrki Saarinen (University of Eastern Finland, PREIN)
Optics and Photonics Education in the EU: Programmes, Skills and Pathways, with invited talks from Heidi Ottevaere (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Nathalie Destouches (Laboratory Hubert Curien, University Jean Monnet), Alice La Porta (ICFO), and Neringa Noreikienė (EPIC), followed by a roundtable moderated by Neringa Noreikienė and Goëry Genty (Tampere University)

Inspiring Voices from Across the Field

A highlight of the meeting was the programme of plenary lectures, bringing together leading researchers from across the optics and photonics community.

No recap of EOSAM 2026 would be complete without its headline moment: a plenary lecture from Anne L'Huillier, laureate of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics, on her pioneering work tracing the route to attosecond light pulses. Students were also given a rare and treasured opportunity to meet and speak with her directly in a dedicated, student-only session. She was joined on the plenary stage by an outstanding lineup of speakers: Polina Bayvel (University College London), Hui Cao (Yale University), Daniele Faccio (University of Glasgow), Fedor Jelezko (Ulm University), Donghyun Kim (Yonsei University), and Paloma Arroyo Huidobro (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Condensed Matter Physics Center), recipient of the EOS Early Career Women in Photonics Award 2025.

During her visit, Professor L'Huillier was also interviewed by Yle News at the conference venue, bringing the story of her work to a wider audience: Anne L'Huillier | Yle

EOSAM 2026 also celebrated the EOS Prize 2026, awarded for the best paper published in JEOS-RP. This year’s prize recognized the outstanding work “Interplay of χ(2) and χ(3) Effects for Microcomb Generation” by Francesco Rinaldo Talenti, Luca Lovisolo, Andrea Gerini, Huanfa Peng, Pedro Parra-Rivas, Tobias Hansson, Yifan Sun, Carlos Alonso-Ramos, Martina Morassi, Aristide Lemaître, Abdelmounaim Harouri, Christian Koos, Stefan Wabnitz, Laurent Vivien, and Giuseppe Leo.

Congratulations to the entire team on this well-deserved recognition! Francesco Rinaldo Talenti (University of Bath) also joined the plenary programme, taking the stage in Tampere to present the team’s prize-winning research in person.

From the Laboratory to the Exhibition Floor

EOSAM is not only a place for presenting research, it is also a meeting point between science and industry.

The EOSAM 2026 Exhibition, held from 25–27 August at the Scandic Rosendahl Conference Center, brought together companies and research communities in an environment designed to encourage discussion, collaboration and the exchange of ideas.

With 508 participants from 33 countries at the meeting, the exhibition and accompanying coffee breaks, lunches and networking activities provided numerous opportunities to connect beyond the lecture rooms.

The exhibition, fully sold out ahead of the conference, brought together 23 companies from across the optics and photonics industry: AeroDIODE (Gold Sponsor), Thorlabs (Silver Sponsor), Finnish SpecialGlass (Silver Sponsor), Zurich Instruments (Silver Sponsor), LIGHT CONVERSION (Silver Sponsor), JEOS-RP, VEXLUM, EssentOptics, Ampliconyx, VTT, Panasonic Connect, Light Publishing Group, Havuja Solutions, BeamXpert, SSL Resource, Oxxius, Hamamatsu, Mitutoyo, Heriot-Watt University Ultrafast Optics Group, Heriot-Watt University Intertangle, Business Tampere, Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation, Nordic Clean Tech.

Several exhibitors also stepped into the spotlight themselves during the Exhibitor Pitch Session, giving the audience a fast-paced look at their company. . The session received such positive feedback from both participants and companies that it will definitely be back on the programme for future editions of EOSAM.

Connecting Beyond the Lecture Hall

Some of the most memorable moments of EOSAM 2026 happened outside the scientific sessions.

On Monday evening, participants had the opportunity to join a networking cruise to Viikinsaari, experiencing a taste of the Finnish summer landscape while enjoying dinner and informal conversations with fellow participants.

The week continued with a welcome reception at Tampere City Hall, bringing attendees together in a relaxed setting and offering another opportunity to make new connections.

And, of course, the conference dinner provided a chance to celebrate together not only the week but also the people who make the EOS community what it is. The evening included the celebration of this year's newly named EOS Fellows, Maurizio Ferrari, Mircea Guina, Bertrand Kibler, and Rogério Nunes Nogueira, recognizing their outstanding contributions to the optics and photonics community. It was also an opportunity to thank outgoing Past-President Patricia Segonds for her dedication and service to the European Optical Society.

The evening also gave the floor to some of EOS's international MoU partners, who each shared a few warm words with the room: Yukitoshi Otani of the Optical Society of Japan (OSJ), Maria S. Millán of the Red Iberoamericana de Óptica (RIAO), and Donghyun Kim of the Optical Society of Korea (OSK), a nice second appearance for Prof. Kim after his plenary lecture earlier in the week.

These informal moments are an essential part of EOSAM: conversations over coffee, introductions between sessions, discussions over dinner and unexpected encounters that can become future collaborations.

Supporting the Next Generation

Students and early-stage researchers were an important part of EOSAM 2026. A considerable number of students attended the conference, making up over 29% of the total participants and bringing fresh perspectives and dynamic energy to the discussions and activities throughout the week.

As in previous editions, EOS offered all registered attendees a full day of tutorials ahead of the official opening, and this year, master's students were granted free access to attend.

The programme offered dedicated opportunities for young researchers to present their work, meet established scientists and connect with peers from across Europe and beyond. The Early-Stage Researcher Session and student-focused activities were complemented by the Best Student Presentation Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions from the next generation of researchers. The awards were sponsored by EOS, Evatec, and RhySearch. Congratulations to the winners: Ina Heckelmann (Switzerland), Valentin Rollo (France), and Margarida Bernardes (Finland)!

The closing session on Friday brought the conference to an end with the Best Student Presentation Awards and Closing Ceremony, celebrating the achievements of the participants and marking the conclusion of a busy week in Tampere.

Looking Ahead, and to Wrocław

EOSAM 2026 also brought EOS's Annual General Assembly (AGA), where the Society's new Executive Committee was announced: Ignacio Moreno as President, Nathalie Destouches as President-Elect, Emiliano Descrovi as Past-President, and Emilija Petronijevic as Secretary. Congratulations to the incoming committee: while Ignacio and Emiliano move into new roles within EOS's established leadership rotation, Nathalie and Emilija join the Executive Committee for the very first time. We wish them all a successful two years ahead.

As in previous years, participants who submitted their work to the EOSAM proceedings can look forward to seeing their papers published in EPJ Web of Conferences by EDP Sciences, indexed across major platforms including Scopus, ensuring the research presented in Tampere reaches audiences well beyond the conference walls. Authors also have the option to submit an extended version of their work to EOS's own journal, JEOS-RP, at a reduced publishing fee. For more information, visit our website: EOSAM 2026 Topical Issue.

The glow of this year's meeting will linger for a while yet, and we're already looking forward to creating new memories at EOSAM 2027 in Wrocław, Poland, from 27–30 September 2027. Mark your calendars!

Thank You, Tampere!

After five days of presentations, discussions, exhibitions, tutorials, networking and celebrations, EOSAM 2026 came to a close in Tampere.

But the end of the programme did not feel like an ending. New collaborations had been discussed, ideas had been exchanged, research had been presented, and connections had been made across institutions, countries and career stages.

From the first tutorial on Monday morning to the final farewell on Friday, EOSAM 2026 was a celebration of what happens when a diverse scientific community comes together with a shared passion for optics and photonics.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to making the meeting possible: our speakers, session chairs, reviewers, authors, exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, partners and participants.

A special thank you goes to Photonics Finland, Tampere University and the PREIN Flagship for their close collaboration and support, and to everyone who helped bring EOSAM to Tampere.

As we leave Tampere, we take with us not only new scientific insights, but also new connections, new ideas and the memories of a bright week spent together.

Until we meet again,

Elina Koistinen, EOS Executive Director
Boglárka Selényi, EOS Communications and Events Assistant