MEMBERSHIP

A Message from the President of SPIE

Dear SPIE Member,

As I begin this year as president, I want to assure each of you that SPIE will continue to be innovative and responsive to the needs of its members.

The expertise and enthusiasm of members play an important role in the continued success of a professional society. The members are the strength of the organization. In my travels over the coming months, I hope to meet and interact with many of you. Considering the nearly-even split between members in the merger vote, I and others in the leadership need to understand your vision of what SPIE should be and how it can best serve you. We need to work to develop our Society as the premier global information resource for optics and photonics.

As the Internet has become an accepted means of communication, there are ever-greater opportunities for members to become even more connected to their Society and to each other. We can become a true technical community, working together over great distances, for the advancement of the field. I encourage you to use the resources SPIE has made available, and to communicate your ideas, so that we can continue to develop the useful tools for people active in our field.

One of the more pressing issues we face is the need for qualified engineers and scientists. I challenge each of you to encourage the bright, prospective students of optics, to share with them the excitement of our fascinating field, and to describe the intriguing problems found in optics-related research.

In summary, I welcome you to SPIE 2000 -- to the opportunities and challenges we face together. I know that the officers, directors, and staff of SPIE share my hope that your association with the Society will be personally and professionally rewarding as we navigate our course into the 21st Century.

Respectfully,
2000 SPIE President

For information about membership please refer to www.spie.org