“When Photonics Meets AI”: That Was Photonics Days Jena 2026

How can artificial intelligence benefit from photonics research—and vice versa? This question was the focus of this year’s Photonics Days Jena, which took place on September 15 in Jena. At the traditional networking and career event organized by Fraunhofer IOF and the Max Planck School of Photonics, around 100 international participants explored new perspectives on photonics research in the age of AI.

When the Future of AI Builds on Light

The focus was on two perspectives: How can artificial intelligence help drive better research in photonics? And how, in turn, can photonics contribute to creating more powerful and, at the same time, more efficient foundations for the AI of the future?

Utz Bacher, Vice President of Software at Q.ANT, a photonic deep-tech company, summed up a key challenge in his keynote address: “AI is getting hungry!” This is because AI’s growing demand for computing power goes hand in hand with rising energy and resource consumption. This is precisely where photonic technologies can open up new approaches. He took the participants on a journey into a future in which arithmetic operations would no longer be performed exclusively using conventional electronics, but increasingly with the help of light.

AI in Everyday Research

Equally central was the question of how young researchers can already make effective use of artificial intelligence in their own work today. In the Photonics4Future lecture “Photons and Prompts: Gen-AI in the Quantum Photonics Lab,” Markus Leipe, a doctoral candidate at Fraunhofer IOF and MPSP, provided insights into his daily research routine and demonstrated how large language models (LLMs) can support scientific work. “You have to be the bottleneck,” was one of Leipe’s key messages. He emphasized that humans must remain the ultimate authority and take responsibility for their own research.

Participants then had the opportunity to test for themselves how this principle can be put into practice. The subsequent workshop led by Dr. Xuemei Gu from Friedrich Schiller University Jena focused on how AI can assist in developing research questions and designing experiments, as well as the rules necessary for its responsible use in a scientific context.

Career Planning Between Research and Industry

At the “Career & Industry Brunch,” students and doctoral candidates engaged in conversation with companies and institutions from the industry in a relaxed atmosphere. The event provided an opportunity to ask questions about individual career planning and to network with potential employers—including JENOPTIK GmbH, Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen mbH, nanoplus Nanosystems and Technologies GmbH, Edmund Optics, OptoSigma Germany GmbH, TRUMPF, and Excelitas Deutschland GmbH.

The Stage Is Set for the Next Generation of Scientists

Supporting young talent once again played a central role in the program. As part of Photonics Day Jena 2026, the Applied Photonics Award was presented once more. Organized by Fraunhofer IOF, this award for early-career researchers honored four young researchers for outstanding theses in applied photonics. A total of 7,000 euros in prize money was awarded.

The Idea Pitches organized by Center of Excellence in Photonics also demonstrated that good research requires not only recognition but sometimes also a bold first step. Seven young researchers took the stage to convince the audience of their ideas and secure a research budget as seed funding.

The audience decided which ideas were the most compelling. The winners were:

• Rana Sebak (€10,000)
  “Self-Calibrating Photonics Sources”
• Sascha Julia Römhild (€7,500)
  “Photonic Sensing & Digital Twins – Multispectral 3D Thermography”
• Josue Ricardo Leon Torres (€5,000)
  “Beyond the Hologram”

About Photonics Days Jena 2026

To promote young talent and, in turn, innovation in the fields of optics and photonics, the Fraunhofer IOF, in collaboration with the Max Planck School of Photonics, has been organizing the Photonics Days Jena since 2019 as a networking and career event for students and doctoral candidates. On September 15, 2026, the organizers once again invited early-career researchers to a one-day program to network with an international community and representatives from renowned companies. In addition to professional exchange, the event focused on providing guidance on career questions and facilitating valuable contacts for participants’ future professional paths.

Photonics Days Jena 2026 is supported by: Phortify, JENOPTIK GmbH, Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft Thüringen mbH, nanoplus Nanosystems and Technologies GmbH, Edmund Optics, OptoSigma Germany GmbH, TRUMPF, Excelitas Deutschland GmbH, and Photon Delta.

Those interested can learn more about Photonics Days Jena at www.photonicsdays.de