From The President
Hello OSSC Members & Friends,
As this calendar year end draws near, with the holiday season upon us, I want to take time to reflect on the year that has passed and look ahead to what’s coming. Starting with the OSSC’s “Purpose” from Article II of our ‘Articles of Incorporation’ we have:
“It is the aim and purpose of this society to increase and disseminate the knowledge of Optics and closely allied sciences, to promote the mutual interest of investigators, teachers and students in these fields, and of designers, manufacturers and users of optical instruments and allied scientific apparatus as well as those who have optics as a hobby, and to encourage cooperation and establish acquaintanceship among these persons.”
I ask myself (and you by way of this letter), have we met the above ‘aim & purpose’? My answer is YES!! Even though this calendar year started off with a canceled OSSC regular meeting that was to be on Jan. 8, 2025, we carried on and rescheduled the January speaker for April in a new venue, The Mosaic, in South Pasadena. The Eaton Fire was the cause of the cancellation and many of our friends and colleagues were affected by this and other fires in Southern California.
We had a good mix of speakers and topics during 2025 and spread our venues evenly between Pasadena, The South Bay and Orange County. Our speakers came from academia, national labs, and industry and we had some meetings at local schools with many students, teachers and industry professionals in attendance.
In the middle of the calendar year, we nominated and elected new OSSC officers and appointed some members to key positions on the Board of Directors. Some of these have been OSSC Leaders over many years and some are new to the OSSC. This is a very good mix as those members with many years of experience can mentor those who are new. This is a theme that has been going on within the OSSC for decades, which is why our society has been so successful for almost 75 years!!! We always welcome our new Board members and work closely with them as they learn how the OSSC operates so they can take over more day-to-day operations in the coming years to carry on our traditions.
We also had a full year of many education and outreach programs with our partners like the QOISC, Vital Link, Girl Scouts of OC, LA Tech and NOVA Academy. We will do a separate communications about these programs, as they are typically highlighted during our regular OSSC monthly meetings.
Looking towards our collective future, we already have several OSSC meetings scheduled for early 2026, with speakers and venues confirmed and a few more in the works. Going forward, we will have our Programs & Arrangements Committee, led by our committee Chairs, plan and arrange the upcoming Fall meetings during the Spring and Summer so there is not a rush to do so after the Summer Elections and Appointments. This will give the OSSC Board of Directors more time to focus on other topics related to growing the OSSC in new directions, such as fundraising for education, outreach and enhanced communications.
If you are interested in learning the inner workings of the OSSC or would like to volunteer for some education or outreach programs, reach out to your friendly OSSC Board Member and let them know. We will be very happy to mentor you on your way to becoming an OSSC volunteer.
Best Wishes,
Donn Silberman
OSSC President 2025-2026