The story
Founded by Perley G. Nutting in 1916.1
Optica was founded in 1916 as the Optical Society of America, under the leadership of Perley G. Nutting, with 30 optical scientists and instrument makers based in Rochester, New York. It soon published its first journal of research results and established an annual meeting. The group's Journal of the Optical Society of America was created in 1918. The first series of joint meetings with the American Physical Society took place in 1918.
In 2008, it changed its name to the Optical Society. In September 2021, under the leadership of Elizabeth Rogan, the organization's name changed to Optica, in reference to the organization's journal by the same name and geographic neutrality to reflect the society's global membership.
In 2024, following an employee whistleblower complaint, Bloomberg News reported that the Optica Foundation Challenge was funded entirely by Huawei. In response, the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology launched a probe. Despite a statement from 2024 Optica President Gerd Leuchs stating an independent investigation into the whistleblower complaint revealed "no violation of law was identified" and no further Congressional action, Optica announced that it would no longer accept money from Huawei, removed the company's representation on a panel of judges, returned donations made by Huawei from 2022 onward, and removed Elizabeth A. Rogan as CEO.
From Wikipedia’s article on Optica (society), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5