A number of years ago, I was married to an obstetrician. We shared dinner together on the nights that she was able to come home at a reasonable hour. Our dinner conversations usually involved the work of the day—what was exciting and what was hard. As a maternal fetal medicine specialist, her stories usually involved bringing quite a few infants into this world as well as saving a baby’s or mother’s life. Afterwards, I would not say much about what I did. At the time I had worked on a targeting imager, a surveillance system, and a threat warning sensor, and I did not feel the impact was comparable to the positive contributions she was making for people in this world.

My opinion has changed since then. I have worked primarily in the defense industry where the short-term objectives support the military; however, with a broader perspective we can all connect with the larger scientific enterprise where researchers and engineers work in many industries worldwide. Our efforts help improve lives in ways that contribute to safer communities, improved medical services, a better food supply, cleaner air, increased access to information, smarter manufacturing, and so much more. I am proud to know that applied optical systems along with other optics and photonics technologies play a large role in many of the advancements that improve quality of life for citizens around the world.

As we begin this New Year, let us all have a renewed sense of purpose for our work. I hope that 2016 provides you with some very interesting optical problems, new innovative inventions, highly cited publications, an increase in research funding, and of course, great health and good relationships with all of your family and friends.