Fellows are members of the society who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. Since the society's inception in 1955, more than 1,700 SPIE members have become fellows.

The inductees this year hail from across the globe, representing a varied group of countries that includes Australia, Belgium, China, France, Japan, Mexico, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. In a Society first, 35 % of the new fellows come from the industry sector including Edmund Optics CEO Samuel Sadoulet, IBM’s Martin Burkhardt, Synopsys’ Lawrence S. Melvin, and Toptica Photonics Inc’s president and CEO Mark A. Tolbert.

The 2023 fellows cohort also includes a strong constituency of women, including CVI Laser Optics’ Julia M. Craven, the University of Auckland’s Cather Simpson and Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, Ball Aerospace’s Makenzie Lystrup and Jeanette Domber, and Siemens Healthineer’s Rebecca Fahrig.

“As well as being recognized for their technical achievements and contributions to the society, fellows represent our international and diverse community,” notes the chair of the SPIE Fellows Committee and TracInnovations director of business development and sales, Michelle Stock. “I’m especially delighted this year to welcome so many new fellow members from industry – my own professional area – alongside their colleagues from the academic and government sectors. It's been a pleasure this year to work with the committee to honor our new fellows, and to recognize their professional successes. As a society, we celebrate our 83 new inductees, their innovative research and breakthrough technologies across optics and photonics, as well as their invaluable contributions to SPIE.”

New fellows are acknowledged during the SPIE symposium of their choice throughout the year.