Technical Event
Optomechanical Technical Event
5 August 2025 • 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM PDT | Marriott Marquis, Marriott Marquis, Catalina (Level 4, South Tower)
This is the bi-annual meeting of the premier group of optomechanical engineers that design and analyze the world’s optical instruments and systems. This gathering is open to all technical attendees of SPIE Optics + Photonics. The featured speaker will be Dan Vukobratovich of Raytheon. Following Dan’s talk, the floor will be open for general questions and discussions about the field of optomechanics, and to anybody that would like to share current-day optomechanical engineering design challenges and seek ideas on how to solve them.
The featured speaker will be Dan Vukobratovich presenting on "Beyond Bayer and Wiederhorn: half a century of optomechancial progress."
In the last half century optomechanical engineering moved from design by rules of thumb and “tribal wisdom” to the use of advanced analytical techniques and standards. Two important developments are adhesive mounting of optics and analysis of the strength of brittle optical materials. The history of these two important optomechanical design techniques is discussed in this review. Beginning with Bayer’s seminal 1981 SPIE paper, methods for the design of adhesive optical mounts reached a high state of maturity. Adhesive mounts are relatively economical, rugged, provide high performance – and today can be designed with high confidence. After Wiederhorn’s application of fracture mechanics for predicting window lifetime in 1974, structural analysis of glass strength moved from the “7 kPa” rule of thumb to the use of the Weibull distribution and national standards. Today the structural performance of optical components can be determined with relatively high confidence.
Daniel Vukobratovich is a Senior Principal Engineer at Raytheon, Tucson, Arizona where he has worked since 1999. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Daniel Vukobratovich taught optomechanics since 1985 in 17 different countries. He has written over 50 technical papers and three books on optomechanics as well as contributing chapters in the IR Handbook and other references. He holds 5 patents. Daniel Vukobratovich is an SPIE Fellow and in 2020 received the SPIE President’s Award for his work in teaching optomechanics. Areas of interest include lightweight mirrors and optomechanics.
Part of the Optomechanical Engineering 2025 conference.
MENU: Assorted snacks and beverages will be available inside the presentation room.
SETUP: Theater style seating.
The featured speaker will be Dan Vukobratovich presenting on "Beyond Bayer and Wiederhorn: half a century of optomechancial progress."
In the last half century optomechanical engineering moved from design by rules of thumb and “tribal wisdom” to the use of advanced analytical techniques and standards. Two important developments are adhesive mounting of optics and analysis of the strength of brittle optical materials. The history of these two important optomechanical design techniques is discussed in this review. Beginning with Bayer’s seminal 1981 SPIE paper, methods for the design of adhesive optical mounts reached a high state of maturity. Adhesive mounts are relatively economical, rugged, provide high performance – and today can be designed with high confidence. After Wiederhorn’s application of fracture mechanics for predicting window lifetime in 1974, structural analysis of glass strength moved from the “7 kPa” rule of thumb to the use of the Weibull distribution and national standards. Today the structural performance of optical components can be determined with relatively high confidence.
Daniel Vukobratovich is a Senior Principal Engineer at Raytheon, Tucson, Arizona where he has worked since 1999. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Daniel Vukobratovich taught optomechanics since 1985 in 17 different countries. He has written over 50 technical papers and three books on optomechanics as well as contributing chapters in the IR Handbook and other references. He holds 5 patents. Daniel Vukobratovich is an SPIE Fellow and in 2020 received the SPIE President’s Award for his work in teaching optomechanics. Areas of interest include lightweight mirrors and optomechanics.
Part of the Optomechanical Engineering 2025 conference.
Event Details
FORMAT: General session with one featured speaker and live audience Q&A and general discussion.MENU: Assorted snacks and beverages will be available inside the presentation room.
SETUP: Theater style seating.