LCN co-director Professor Anatoly Zayats has been awarded the 2026 SPIE Directors’ Award. SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, is a global organisation that supports researchers, engineers, and industry professionals working in light‑based technologies. SPIE facilitates scientific exchange, publishes leading journals, and hosts major conferences and educational programmes across the world.
This year’s SPIE Directors’ Award recognises Professor Zayats’ transformative leadership as Editor‑in‑Chief of Advanced Photonics. Under his and co‑Editor‑in‑Chief Xiao‑Cong Larry Yuan’s direction, the journal launched in 2019 and has rapidly established itself as a major high‑impact forum for cutting‑edge research in photonics, far exceeding the typical trajectory for new scientific publications.
In their statement, the nominators emphasised the exceptional nature of this achievement:
“Working with each other and with SPIE staff, Larry and Anatoly have achieved what many have failed to do and what many have thought impossible. Usually a high-impact journal takes years to establish. In a small number of years, Larry and Anatoly have established an SPIE journal to rival the highest-profile journals in the field, with journal-level publication metrics surpassing those published by other cognate societies. Together, Larry and Anatoly represent the difference that SPIE leadership can make to both the Society and the wider photonics community.”
Reflecting on the award, Professor Zayats said:
“I am very grateful to SPIE for this recognition. This is a testament to fantastic authors and readers of Advanced Photonics journal, dedicated editorial board members and amazing editorial office.”
You can read full details of the award on the SPIE website.
