Light Years Ahead

Fueled by a passion for science, Ocean Optics created the industry’s first line of miniature, modular spectrometers and accessories over 20 years ago. The dream? To enable researchers to make measurements at the sample and in the field – experiments that simply couldn’t be performed in the lab. In essence, Ocean Optics wanted to make spectroscopy flexible, cost-effective and accessible to new scientific fields and technology markets.

Those researchers went on to create new techniques for solving problems with spectroscopy, and their students graduated and joined the ranks of industry. That second generation began to use Ocean Optics spectrometers as well, leveraging the instruments’ small footprints and high performance-to-cost ratios to create innovative new devices for applications in medicine, the environment, process, food, safety and more.

Fueled by a passion for science, Ocean Optics created the industry’s first line of miniature, modular spectrometers and accessories over 20 years ago. The dream? To enable researchers to make measurements at the sample and in the field – experiments that simply couldn’t be performed in the lab. In essence, Ocean Optics wanted to make spectroscopy flexible, cost-effective and accessible to new scientific fields and technology markets.

Those researchers went on to create new techniques for solving problems with spectroscopy, and their students graduated and joined the ranks of industry. That second generation began to use Ocean Optics spectrometers as well, leveraging the instruments’ small footprints and high performance-to-cost ratios to create innovative new devices for applications in medicine, the environment, process, food, safety and more.

Today, Ocean Optics embraces the philosophy that building partnerships with those who share a passion for the bold and the innovative will pay dividends that go beyond the bottom line, creating a world where spectroscopy helps to protect and improve the quality of life.

Embracing the light

It all begins with light. Light transcends boundaries imposed by geography, politics and even time.

In its own little corner of the world, Ocean Optics experiences firsthand how customers around the globe are connected by light – measuring it, moving it, applying it – in pursuit of research, education and applications that solve problems and often elevate us all. “It’s exciting to be a part of that exploration and, in our own small way, to help folks to achieve great works,” says David Creasey, Vice President of sales and marketing at Ocean Optics.

Light has always played an integral role in man’s development. Today, light is being used in creative ways to solve many of the challenges facing our world, with photonics technologies like spectroscopy driving those solutions. Indeed, from early man and the first astronomers to James Clerk Maxwell and Albert Einstein, great thinkers, scientists and dreamers have pondered, explored and experimented with ways to harness the power and beauty of light.

As we celebrate the International Year of Light 2015 (www.light2015.org), Ocean Optics wants the scientific community to promote the use of light to improve the quality of life. It’s certainly exhilarating to consider the impact of light in so many areas: illumination and restoration of art and cultural works; light-based applications in life sciences and laser-based therapies in medical diagnostics; light-measurement methods applied to farm-to-table technologies; and light used to monitor the health of the environment.

Celebrating the journey

No technological discovery or advance – be it a great scientific achievement or a small but meaningful improvement to a technique or process – has taken place without collaboration. The most brilliant scientists and technologists have colleagues, observers and even rivals with whom to share ideas.

“When we think about being socially responsible, we first consider how collaboration can produce great things: new ideas, big concepts, and visionary landscapes. From direct support of students and researchers through funding initiatives to sharing of knowledge and insight with prospects and customers, Ocean Optics is committed to furthering the cause of science and its role in our society,” says Creasey.

Motivation for Ocean Optics is simple. In the future, what we eat, drink and breathe, and what dose of medicine we take to improve our health, will all be determined through better analytics. And spectroscopy will play a leading role in helping us navigate important choices regarding our health, our quality of life and the environment. Providing our children with clean water to drink and safe medicine to take will be the greatest legacy of analytical science, allowing future generations to not just survive, but thrive.