Monday, September 14
- 1Future of compute
- 2Communications
- 3Co-packaged optics
Monday's sessions cover some of the biggest challenges and opportunities for AI datacenters, with topics across energy, computing, communications, and co-packaged optics.
September 14 to 16, 2026 · Stanford University
2026 SPRC Annual Symposium
Uniting leaders, scientists, and innovators across industry, academia, and government to drive collaborative breakthroughs in photonics
James H. Clark Center, Stanford University. Photo by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized, cropped, and darkened.
About the Symposium
The 2026 SPRC Annual Symposium is the marquee event for the Stanford photonics community and brings together leaders from academia, industry, and government to explore the future of photonics.
Unlike a conventional technical conference, the Symposium is designed as a forum for high-level exchange and cross-community collaboration. Talks are conversation starters rather than detailed lectures, with the emphasis on strategic insight and shared challenges.
Participation is curated to foster substantive dialogue and collaboration. Attendees can expect perspectives spanning the full photonics ecosystem, including academic researchers, government labs, startups, and global technology companies.
Guiding Themes
The program is organized around two questions.
New Opportunities
What novel applications and solutions are enabled by recent advances in photonics, from biophotonics and optical interconnects to copackaged optics, quantum systems, and metamaterials?
Key Challenges
What technical or organizational barriers, if solved, would unlock transformative new applications and accelerate adoption?
Program
Three days, three sessions each day. Detailed timings will be published closer to the event.
Tuesday, September 15
- 1Materials
- 2Systems
- 3Entrepreneurship and startups
- Conference dinner
Tuesday's sessions cover novel materials breakthroughs relevant for new generation packaging, heat management, and optics, as well as system-level challenges. Entrepreneurship and startup showcases are scheduled for the afternoon.
Wednesday, September 16
- 1Life sciences and AI
- 2Sensing
- 3Diagnostics
Wednesday's sessions cover AI-powered and quantum technologies for life sciences, sensing, and medical diagnostics.
Speakers
Opening keynote
Steven Chu
Nobel Prize in Physics 1997
Stanford University
Monday, September 14
Portrait: photograph by Royal Society, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
Andy Bechtolsheim
Arista Networks
Mark Brongersma
Stanford University
Gaurang Choksi
University of Arizona
Jennifer Dionne
Stanford University
Zoran Jandric
Seagate
Camille Pataki
Eikon Therapeutics
Haisheng Rong
AMD
Jelena Vuckovic
Stanford University
Phil Winterbottom
Marvell
John Wood
US Navy
More speakers will be announced as the program is finalized.