A young boy was fishing with his grandfather on their boat dock near a lightbulb that was attracting bugs. The mosquitos were fierce, so the grandfather asked the boy to turn the light off, which he did. Shortly thereafter the boy saw some lightning bugs approaching, and he said, “It’s no use grandpa. They are coming after us with flashlights!”

Light affects our everyday lives in both good and bad ways. UV and other wavelengths damage skin cells, visible light can give away our military positions, and too much light can burn objects and surfaces. Light is also very positive, allowing for plant and animal life and growth, warming our living environment, providing visibility, and contributing to the treatment of many diseases.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2015 “The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.” This means that the U.N. has decided to raise global awareness about light-based technologies and promote activities related to developing solutions for global challenges involving energy, education, agriculture, and health.

The International Year of Light (IYL) will provide the public as well as political figures with a better understanding of the role that light plays in our modern world. We already know that light impacts everyone through communications (e.g., fiber optics and the internet), agriculture, medicine (e.g., laser therapy and treatments), and security (e.g., night vision technology).

We, as applied optical scientists and engineers, should actively participate in the IYL. We have dedicated a major part of our lives to the study and development of light technologies so we should celebrate the basic and applied research that provides a foundation for our work. I once had a supervisor who said basic research fills the well that we applied researchers drink from. If the well dries, then we have nothing on which to build upon. So, it is time to appreciate both. I encourage you to visit the IYL website www.light2015.org and browse the activities this year. If you can, please participate locally or via social media.

I recently attended the OSA Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where I heard a really fun lecture by Charles Falco on the early use of optics in art. Light, it seems, affects parallel paths in both art and science—a fact appreciated by the greats from da Vinci to Einstein. While these paths are sometimes admired separately, many times they cross and both are appreciated together. The IYL provides a global stage for celebrating light in many forms, and I hope that you will take the opportunity to do so. From a young boy to a grandfather, the appreciation of lightning bugs is a good start!