The collective talents of our Members make SPIE a powerful force in the scientific community. SPIE Committees develop strategic policy and help to foster interaction and cooperation and deepen the Board's understanding of the issues that have an impact on the Society.

Committee members must be current SPIE voting members, commit to serving a three-year term, able to devote the necessary time to the committee's work, and generally attend two committee meetings per year. Student Members are welcome to participate as non-voting members.

A program committee is formed by the conference chair(s). A well-structured program commitee will have a range of expertise to span the subject areas, including well-established and recognizable leaders in the filemd from academia, government, and industry as appropriate. Program commitees should also reflect diversity in gender, race, ethnicity, and geography.

What does a program committee do?

A program committee evaluates submissions, indentifies key speakers, is aware of emerging trends, and serves as session chairs. Session chairs are responsible for the smooth running of the session and are tasked with asking aninciteful question to launch the Q&A or mediate any technical disagreements during the discussion period.

How do I join a program commitee?

To qualify to become a committee member, you should be active in the commmunity. Ways to do this are to submit and present papers at the conference of choice as an author or co-author, participate in the conference by asking questions and meeting other conference participants, become a conference community member through consistent and ideally, yearly activity, and regularly publish your work.

If you are qualified, explain to the conference chair why you are interested in fulfilling this role and what you hope to gain from the experience. Provide relevant experience that has helped prepare you for this role. Demonstrating expertise and leadership as a program commitee member can lead to other roles within the conference and can be a stepping-stone for more involvment in the Society.

Are you interested in getting involved with SPIE on a Society level? There are many types of  committees with a range of focal areas, providing opportunities to contribute in your area of expertise and interest. 

Standing committees report and make recommendations to the Board.

SPIE advisory committees/presidential task forces may be appointed by the President for investigation, study, and recommendation within particular areas of concern; these committees/task forces end at the completion of their duties or at the expiration of the term of the president who appointed it, whichever comes first.

SPIE ad hoc committees may be established by the Board of Directors to carry out a specific task that the Board wishes to undertake; these committees exist for a period of time determined by the Board.

Interested in learning more about joining a SPIE Committee?

Contact us at governance@spie.org or complete the following questionnaire:

The Audit Committee reviews financial transactions of the Society and reports results to the Board.

Audit Committee Charter (PDF)

		Gary Spiegel, Chair Consultant at Strategic Consulting United States
		Teresa Handy DeVeau SPIE Staff Liaison

The Awards Committee reviews the choices of the award subcommittees, selects the Gold Medal recipient and submits these recommendations for Society Awards to the Board.

Awards Committee Charter (PDF)

		Kyle Myers, Chair U.S. Food and Drug Administration United States
		Andrea Jacques SPIE Staff Liaison

The Compensation Committee is appointed by the Board of Directors to assist the Board in its responsibilities regarding compensation of the Chief Executive Officer, Senior Executives and "disqualified persons" (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code).

Compensation Committee Charter (PDF)

		Jason Mulliner, Chair Alluxa, Inc. United States
		Sarah Wills SPIE Staff Liaison

The Corporate and Exhibitor Committee monitors and oversees Society activities that address the needs of SPIE Corporate Sustaining Members and Exhibitors.

Corporate and Exhibitor Committee Charter (PDF)

		Scott Bass, Chair Edmund Optics Inc. United States
		Bonnie Joyce Peterson SPIE Staff Liaison

The Education and Outreach Committee maintains surveillance of the educational activities of the Society and monitors the quality of educational programs conducted in the name of the Society.

Education and Outreach Committee Charter (PDF)

		Jessica DeGroote Nelson, Chair Optimax Systems, Inc. United States
		Tasha Chicovsky SPIE Staff Liaison

The Engineering, Science, and Technology Policy (ESTeP) Committee promotes understanding at all levels of policy decision-making, about those issues that affect the well-being of the optical science and engineering communities worldwide. This Committee also advises the Board and other Society groups on ways to expand the Society's role in science and engineering policy.

Engineering Science and Technology Policy Committee Charter (PDF)

		Marc Himel, Chair MKS Instruments, Inc. United States
		Jennifer (Douris) O'bryan SPIE Staff Liaison

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee works to develop a set of strategies that SPIE can adopt to improve and enhance diversity and inclusion in all aspects of SPIE. Diversity is defined as any group that is considered to be underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. This includes race, gender, ethnicity, lifestyle, economic and geographic.

Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee Charter (PDF)

		Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Chair The Univ. of Queensland Australia
		Allison Romanyshyn SPIE Staff Liaison

The Fellows Committee makes recommendations to the President and Board of Directors for Fellows, Life, and Honorary Membership candidates.

Fellows Committee Charter (PDF)

		Michelle Lynn Stock, Chair TracInnovations United States
		Brent Johnson SPIE Staff Liaison

The Financial Advisory Committee reviews and consults with the Treasurer regarding Society financial affairs and procedures.

Financial Advisory Committee Charter (PDF)

		Jason Mulliner, Chair Alluxa, Inc. United States
		Teresa Handy DeVeau SPIE Staff Liaison

The IT Committee provides oversight of the information technology capability and products of the Society and makes recommendations to staff and leadership.

Information Technology Committee Charter (PDF)

		Apurva Jain, Chair Lumotive United States
		Lara Miles SPIE Staff Liaison

The Membership and Community Development Committee oversees and guides Society activities that promote the professional careers and address the needs and interests of SPIE individual Members and constituents.

Membership and Community Development Committee Charter (PDF)

		Maryellen Giger, Chair The Univ. of Chicago United States
		Nelufar Mohajeri SPIE Staff Liaison

Show more committee members

Rebecca Berman
Rebecca Fahrig
Olivia Fehlberg
Goldie Goldstein
Nathan Hagen
Matthew Jungwirth
Saulius Juodkazis
Qian Kemao
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan
Kyle Myers
Oliver Myers
Nicholas Petrick
Rosario Porras-Aguilar
Inga Saknīte
Michelle Lynn Stock
David Wick

Early Career and Student Subcommittee

		Olivia Fehlberg, Chair Edmund Optics Inc. United States
		Bonner Caitlin SPIE Staff Liaison

Shashwath Shankar Bharadwaj
Claudio Castellan
Tatevik Chalyan
Katie Chong
Maciej Kraszewski
Latifah Maasarani
Madhuri Mishra
Sarmishtha Satpathy
Jingyi Yang

The Nominating Committee nominates candidates for Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director.

Nominating Committee Charter (PDF)

		David Andrews, Chair Univ. of East Anglia United Kingdom
		Allison Romanyshyn SPIE Staff Liaison

The Publications Committee monitors the publications of the Society and ascertains that editorial content of digital and printed matter distributed in the name of the Society is appropriate to the technical and ethical standards of the discipline and the Society.

Publications Committee Charter (PDF)

		David Sampson, Chair Univ of Surrey United Kingdom
		Patrick Franzen SPIE Staff Liaison

Show more committee members

Amol Choudhary
Andrea Curatolo
Qian Du
Megan Eckart
Qian Kemao
Beop-Min Kim
Elizabeth Krupinski
Lorenzo Pavesi
Ifor Samuel
Samuel Felipe Serna Otálvaro
Cather Simpson
Fatima Toor
Jian Wang
Zeev Zalevsky
Hans Zappe

Board of Editors Subcommittee

		David Sampson, Chair Univ of Surrey United Kingdom
		Patrick Franzen SPIE Staff Liaison

Ali Adibi
Ni-Bin Chang
Mark Clampin
Anna Devor
Maryellen Giger
Harry Levinson
Brian Pogue
Sean Shaheen
Adam Wax
Xiao-Cong Yuan
Zeev Zalevsky
Hans Zappe
Anatoly Zayats

The Scholarship Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on the scholarship and grant awards made in the name of the Society.

Scholarship Committee Charter (PDF)

		Kate Medicus, Chair Ruda-Cardinal, Inc. United States
		Tasha Chicovsky SPIE Staff Liaison

The Senior Member Committee makes recommendations to the President and Board of Directors for Senior Members.

Senior Member Committee Charter (PDF)

		Oliver Myers, Chair Clemson Univ United States
		Brent Johnson SPIE Staff Liaison

The Strategic Planning Committee provides oversight of and leadership to the strategic planning process of the Society.

Strategic Planning Committee Charter (PDF)

		Bernard Kress, Chair Microsoft Corp United States
		Kevin Probasco SPIE Staff Liaison

The Symposia Committee has oversight responsibilities for the global aspects of the Society's symposia and technical activities including international, national, and regional educational programs and conferences.

Symposia Committee Charter (PDF)

		Peter de Groot, Chair Zygo Corporation United States
		Bob Hainsey SPIE Staff Liaison