{"id":14932,"date":"2026-04-16T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/photonics\/?p=14932"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:07:10","slug":"photonics-in-space-symposium-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/photonics\/2026\/04\/16\/photonics-in-space-symposium-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Photonics In Space Brings Together Out of this World Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Danny Giancioppo | Photos by Danny Giancioppo & Kelly Pe\u00f1a<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
\"\"
Joshua Semeter, Boston University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 9th, 2026 marked the 27th annual Photonics Center symposium, with the subject “Photonics in Space.” Co-Hosted by Professors Joshua Semeter<\/a> and Brian Walsh<\/a>, this event brought together hundreds of guests from around the country interested one of the nation’s greatest scientific advancements: astronomy and astrophysics. Following opening remarks from center director Thomas Bifano<\/a> and co-host Joshua Semeter, six speakers across academia and industry spoke on their latest research involving photonics and optics in space.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the Artemis II mission, it was a perfect chance to hear from our six expert speakers and additional graduate student presentations on the latest achievements and projects surrounding our known\u2013\u2013and unknown\u2013\u2013universe.<\/p>\n

“With the Artemis II splashdown occurring the day after our symposium, \u00a0the event couldn’t have been more timely,” Professor Semeter shared. “It was one year ago that BU arrived on the surface of the moon in the form of the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) instrument<\/a>. LEXI was developed in the Photonics Center by ME Professor and symposium co-host Brian Walsh. The moon has long been a frontier for humanity, and now it is rapidly becoming an outpost of our planet, where new instruments and experiments can be routinely deployed.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Official Event Speakers Included:<\/span><\/h6>\n\n\t