The responsibilities of being conference chair, program committee member, or session chair are crucial to the success of SPIE events, and it is you, our incredible volunteers, who are the true engine of the Society. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff of SPIE, thank you for volunteering your time and dedication—we truly could not do this without you.
Below you'll find information specific for each of these roles. All volunteer leadership roles with SPIE are tasked with furthering and promoting a culture of inclusion and pushing diversity of ideas. If you have any questions or concerns at any point along the way, please don't hesitate to contact your conference program coordinator.
Call for Papers Guidelines
Include the following elements in the Call for Papers:
SPIE reserves the right to edit copy as necessary. Full contact information will not be published; it is used to locate people in our database and keep our database current.
After SPIE receives your Call for Papers:
* Note regarding conference promotions: due to anti-spam laws, GDPR, and the opt-in requirement for people to receive promotional emails from SPIE, we are bound to a promotional email schedule that limits the number of emails SPIE can send to promote an event and solicit submissions. It is important for conference chairs and their program committee to help SPIE advertise and promote their conference attract submissions and participation.
Abstract Solicitation and Submission
Know your Conference Timeline for the Abstract Deadline.
As you contact your colleagues to submit abstracts, be sure to communicate the following:
SPIE continues to enforce the "no present, no publish" policy
Presenters/Authors should be aware that their presentations must be given as scheduled at the meeting, or the manuscripts will not be included in the conference proceedings in the SPIE Digital Library.
The SPIE submission and review system allows you to review abstracts and manuscripts submitted to your conference. Conference chairs and assigned reviewers can access and review submissions via their account at SPIE.org.
Access the Review System
View the User Guide for SPIE Submission Review System
Guidelines for reviewing abstract submissions
Chairs are responsible for reviewing all abstracts submitted to the conference. You can enlist the help of your program committee in this process. If you are assigning reviewers:
The goal of the abstract review is to assess whether the abstract:
Keep in mind:
Program Guidelines
The quality of technical discourse is improved through diversity of participants – diversity in gender, geography, race, heritage, experience, age, sector, and other characteristics. As you work to invite speakers and panelists for SPIE programs, it is important that we bring together people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives in order to support innovation through a broad array of ideas. Environments that value inclusion will ultimately have a positive impact on all of us, as we connect to explore applications of light-based technologies.
Include the following information with your program:
View your conference important dates timeline for the date your program is due to your Program Coordinator
After your conference program is sent to SPIE:
SPIE.org and the SPIE Conferences mobile app are the primary source for SPIE conference programs and special events.
In some cases, after the program is published online, we may also post a PDF file of the program. If a PDF file is posted, it is important to note that this file is not updated with changes that occur after it is posted, and therefore only reflects the program at that point in time when it is posted. The PDF is meant to give attendees a broad view of the programs and events that are scheduled, but for the most recent updates, it is important to view the program on spie.org or the SPIE mobile app.
SPIE staff and conference chairs must strive to limit program changes as much as possible after the program is published, as authors and attendees make their travel plans based on the published version of the programs. Make sure to send any cancelations you receive from speakers/authors to your Program Coordinator, who will in turn also notify you of any cancelations they receive. We will adjust programs with as much minimal impact as possible to the schedule.
If SPIE is printing a Final Technical Program for onsite distribution at the meeting, note that it will only reflect the most up-to-date information at the time of printing; for the most recent updates, it is important to view the program on spie.org or the SPIE Conferences mobile app. The online programs are fully refreshed daily, and some information updates multiple times each day.
Registration fees
Co-sponsorships
Conference co-sponsor eligibility
Co-sponsors can be nonprofit or commercial organizations or companies, government entities, funding agencies, regional or community agencies, etc. However, to avoid conflict of interest, SPIE does not accept conference co-sponsorships from other professional societies, publishers, or event organizers. Please do not request sponsorships from these organizations.
Approaching a potential co-sponsor
It works best if the conference chair, or colleague who has the best contact with the potential co-sponsor, approaches them directly. However, SPIE may approach a potential co-sponsor on your behalf if you provide us with the contact information. Please see the sample Co-sponsor Letter—if you decide to use this letter, please change the sponsor amount request to what you deem reasonable.
Confirming a potential co-sponsor
Co-sponsor recognition
Co-sponsors are listed in the conference call for papers, and all subsequent versions of the conference program.
Student author conference support
SPIE understands that full-time students may need some financial assistance. The Society offers a small number of conference registration fee waivers to eligible and selected SPIE Student Members who are authors, and plan to present and publish an accepted paper at an SPIE meeting that offers the fee waivers.
When attending in-person, conference chair responsibilities include:
Before the conference:
Chairing the session:
How to submit the Session Report Form to SPIE:
If you have any questions or need more information, contact your Conference Program Coordinator. (See list of Program Coordinators)
Conference chairs also act as editors for their conference proceedings and work with their designated SPIE staff proceedings coordinator to collect all manuscripts and resolve any publication issues.
Proceedings of SPIE provide rapid reporting on ideas, techniques, and results of current research. Papers may be status reports of work in progress or descriptions of completed research.
The goal of proceedings manuscript review is to assess whether the manuscript:
In addition, manuscripts approved for publication must:
Keep in mind: