Tuesday, June 02, 2026

Best papers from 2025 Advanced Photonics selected by Editors-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief Choice Awards recognize outstanding articles from esteemed journal

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics

2025 Advanced Photonics Editor-in-Chief Choice Awards — image:
*Advanced Photonics* is an international, Gold Open Access journal that publishes select, innovative research in all areas of optics and photonics, including fundamental and applied research.
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Credit: SPIE

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA — 2 June, 2026 — SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Chinese Laser Press (CLP) proudly share the 2025 Editor-in-Chief Choice Award announcements for the best original and review papers published in the highly-regarded scientific journal Advanced Photonics. In 2025, Advanced Photonics published 60 original articles and 17 review articles.

Copublished by SPIE and (CLP), Advanced Photonics is an international, Gold Open Access journal that publishes select, innovative research in all areas of optics and photonics, including fundamental and applied research. Established in 2019, the journal ranks high in academic publishing with an Impact Factor of 18.8 and a CiteScore of 29.8. Advanced Photonics is available in the recently redesigned SPIE Digital Library, the world’s largest collection of optics and photonics applied research.

Xiao-Cong (Larry) Yuan of Shenzhen University and Anatoly Zayats of King's College London jointly serve as the founding co-editors-in-chief for the journal. The Advanced Photonics Editor-in-Chief Choice Awards, established in 2020, recognize exceptional papers based on the importance of the work to the optics and photonics field. Articles published between December 2024 and December 2025 were eligible for this year’s honor.

The winning original research article, “Calibration-free measurement of absolute gas concentration and temperature via light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy,” was published in October of 2025 and authored by Shunda Qiao, Ziting Lang, Ying He, Xiyang Zhi, and Yufei Ma, all of Harbin Institute of Technology in China.

“By leveraging the quartz thermoelastic effect and full-range light intensity modulation, the proposed method enables direct and precise measurement of absolute gas concentration and temperature, demonstrating strong robustness against system variations,” says Yuan. “This elegant innovation represents a significant advancement in laser spectroscopy and trace gas detection, with considerable potential for practical applications.”

The winning review article, “Thin-film lithium niobate quantum photonics: review and perspectives,” was published in July of 2025 and authored by Fabien Labbé, Çağın Ekici, Innokentiy Zhdanov, Alif Laila Muthali, Leif Katsuo Oxenløwe, Yunhong Ding, each of Technical University of Denmark.

“This review article stands out for its clarity, technical depth, and forward-looking perspective on one of the most rapidly advancing areas in integrated photonics,” says Zayats. “The authors have provided the community with a timely and authoritative review that not only captures the state of the art but also outlines a roadmap for future quantum photonic technologies. We are delighted to recognize this contribution with the award.”

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, we have invested more than $26 million in the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development.

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA — SPIE and Chinese Laser Press (CLP) proudly share the 2025 Editor-in-Chief Choice Award announcements for the best original and review papers published in the highly-regarded scientific journal Advanced Photonics. In 2025, Advanced Photonics published 60 original articles and 17 review articles.

About SPIE

Scientists identify ‘mystery beetle’ attacking blueberry farms across North Carolina

Peer-Reviewed Publication

North Carolina State University

image:
An adult Prionus imbricornis, a type of longhorn beetle. While adults do not feed, prionus larvae have been found attacking the roots of blueberry bushes around North Carolina.
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Credit: Courtesy of North Carolina State University

North Carolina’s blueberry farmers may have a beetle problem.

A new study from North Carolina State University has identified destructive beetles inhabiting North Carolina blueberry fields as Prionus imbricornus, a species of longhorn beetle. Known for their long antennae, the wood-boring beetles are an emerging pest in NC blueberries. Female adults typically lay their eggs in the soil near the roots of hardwood trees; their larvae, which can grow up to five inches long, then consume and destroy those roots, potentially killing the tree, Adults do not feed.

North Carolina is the first state to report P. imbricornus actively feeding on blueberry bushes, though reports of unidentified Prionus larvae feeding on and damaging bush roots stretch back to 2010. Despite these reports, identifying the specific species responsible had proven difficult because the larvae live near the roots of plants. Identification was made harder by the fact that different types of longhorn beetle larvae also look similar.

The lack of species identification complicated efforts to combat the pests, said Kenneth Geisert, graduate student in the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and lead author of a paper on the new study.

“Before now, researchers often just assumed the species of Prionus on their commodities based on adult identification,” Geisert said. “If that guess was incorrect, it could mean using a treatment strategy that did not line up with the problem and incorrectly associating species and their hosts. For instance, while P. imbricornus attacks roots, another type of longhorn beetle might attack the trunk of a tree, or dead branches. Without knowing which species of beetle you’re dealing with and their ecology, incorrect management can cause adverse effects on non-target insects.”

Researchers used a series of black panel traps scented with sex pheromones to attract and gather adults at six farms across Pender, Sampson, Bladen and New Hanover counties. They then used a technique called genetic barcoding, which involves analyzing small, standardized segments of DNA from multiple larvae. The unknown larval sequences are then compared against the same genetic segments from known Prionus adults, allowing scientists to identify the exact species of the larvae.

The results matched P. imbricornus with 98-99% accuracy. Lorena Lopez, assistant extension professor in NC State’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and co-author of the paper, said this is both a good and bad thing.

“On one hand, it’s very important that we know which species we’re dealing with,” she said. “On the other, North Carolina was the first state to ever report Prionus infestation in blueberries, and there are no insecticides currently labeled against this pest in blueberries.”

To address this shortfall, Lopez has started conducting insecticide trials. By identifying effective insecticides and timing treatment regimens with P. imbricornis reproductive cycles, early larval development can be limited. This could prevent major root damage and provide growers with an effective management tool.

The paper, “Prionus imbricornis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), an emerging pest in North Carolina blueberries,” is published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management. Gareth Powell, assistant professor at NC State and director of the NCSU Insect Museum, is a co-author of the paper.

-pitchford-

Note to editors: An abstract follows.

“Thoracic limb stride length is associated with cognitive impairment in aging dogs”

DOI: 10.1093/jipm/pmag018

Authors: Kenneth Geisert, Lorena Lopez, Gareth Powell, North Carolina State University

Published: June 1, 2026 in Journal of Integrated Pest Management

Abstract: The tile-horned prionus, Prionus imbricornis (Linnaeus, 1767) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae), is native to the eastern United States and feeds on hardwoods. Several species of Prionus are known to be pests as larvae, but their overlapping ranges and similar larval morphology make species identification difficult, leading to erroneous host associations. Comparative molecular data of larvae infesting Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus reveal P. imbricornis as the species. A review of insect biology, description of life stages, host plants, damage, and management options for P. imbricornis is presented. A key to adult North Carolina Prionus species and the barcodes of P. imbricornis are provided to facilitate future species-level identification with their correct host.

Journal

Journal of Integrated Pest Management

A prionus imbricornis larva. The larva, which can grow up to five inches long, have been found attacking the roots of blueberry bushes in North Carolina.

Credit

Courtesy of North Carolina State University

DOI

10.1093/jipm/pmag018

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Prionus imbricornis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), an emerging pest in North Carolina blueberries

Article Publication Date

1-Jun-2026

University of Cincinnati researcher secures $3.3M grant to study microplastics’ impact on heart

Interdisciplinary team will examine how pollutants accumulate in body, affect cardiovascular health

University of Cincinnati

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has awarded a five-year, $3.3 million grant to a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researcher to study the potential cardiovascular toxicity of microplastics and nanoplastics, collectively known as MNPs. The research will bring together an interdisciplinary team from across the university.

As the topic moves from scientific journals into mainstream discussions, attention to microplastics and their potential impact on both health and the environment is increasing.

“This preclinical study will significantly advance our understanding of the toxicity of microplastics, particularly their potential contribution to heart diseases,” said Hong-Sheng Wang, PhD, the grant’s principal investigator and a professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neurobiology. “It will position the University of Cincinnati at the forefront of research on how microplastics and nanoplastics may affect cardiovascular health.”

Microplastics and nanoplastics are tiny plastic particles that differ in size. They are typically generated from the breakdown of discarded plastic waste, Wang explained, or intentionally produced for consumer and industrial uses.

“MNPs are ubiquitous and persistent environmental pollutants. Human exposure is widespread, primarily through food, beverages, drinking water and even inhalation,” said Wang. “Exposure can trigger a range of harmful biological responses and is increasingly recognized as a threat to human health.”

MNPs can be absorbed through the digestive system and accumulate in organs, including the heart, raising concerns about microplastics and cardiovascular disease risk. However, their effects on the heart are not yet well understood. Wang pointed to a recent epidemiological study linking higher MNP exposure to increased cardiovascular events and mortality.

“More laboratory research is needed to understand what is really happening,” said Necati Kaval, PhD, a study collaborator and an adjunct instructor and research professional in the Department of Chemistry.

How will UC study the cardiovascular effects of microplastics and nanoplastics?

“A key part of this study is quantifying exposure levels,” said Wang. To do that, researchers will investigate how microplastics and nanoplastics distribute in animal model tissue following exposure and ingestion.

Kaval, who is also manager of the Sensors and Imaging Core Facility in the Department of Chemistry, will lead detection and quantification efforts using state-of-the-art analytical tools.

“It is important to learn where MNPs accumulate in cells and tissues,” said Kaval, an analytical and materials chemist. “Some microplastics, such as polyethylene, are chemically very similar to certain tissue materials, like fats and lipids, creating a kind of camouflage that makes detection challenging.”

Another major challenge in microplastics research has been the lack of suitable particles for testing. Researchers said the test materials need to have shapes and sizes similar to those found in the environment.

To address this, Kaval has established a method to produce particles that mimic real-world MNPs, which vary in shape and size rather than appearing uniform as in commercially available materials.

“These particles are essentially polymers, and I have expertise in producing micro- and nano-scale polymer particles,” he said.

Researchers will measure the concentration, size distribution and other properties of the particles before using them. Wang and his team will then conduct toxicology analyses to better understand how MNPs affect heart cells and tissue.

The team will also investigate whether exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics can worsen outcomes after a heart attack, as the recent preliminary study suggests. “We will test the hypothesis that environmental MNP exposure causes early myocardial and vascular abnormalities through oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction,” said Wang. “This toxicity may worsen outcomes following myocardial infarction (heart attack) and other cardiac ischemic injury (from lack of oxygen due to obstructed blood supply).”

Additionally, researchers will investigate how microplastics become toxic inside cells. When microplastics enter cardiac cells, the cells attempt to clear them but cannot break them down. “Microplastics can clog a cell’s waste disposal system, leading to harmful downstream effects,” said Wang.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

UC researchers in cardiovascular toxicology and physiology, clinical cardiology, statistics, and analytical chemistry are collaborating on this microplastics and cardiovascular health research.

“We are trying to address a very challenging problem that cannot be solved without collaboration among experts from different fields,” said Kaval.

“Collaboration is what makes this project possible,” said Wang. “It demonstrates the research capabilities of UC when we put our strengths together.”

Other contributors include Jack Rubinstein, MD, and Jianyong Ma, MD, PhD.

Research could lead to cheaper, better testing for ‘forever chemicals’ in US drinking water

University of Kansas

Solid phase extraction — image:
KU study lead author Deepak Timalsina works with solid phase extraction to pre-concentrate water samples stored in 500-millileter high-density polyethylene plastic bottles.
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Credit: Mounika Katamneni

LAWRENCE — A new investigation from the University of Kansas improves detection of PFAS, a family of so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water supplies. The method, which can measure trace pollution levels of PFAS in water more quickly and inexpensively than current techniques, recently was detailed in the open-source journal PLOS Water.

PFAS chemicals, marketed for decades in products like nonstick cookware and fire- and stain-resistant fabrics, linger in the environment and the human body, and they can cause cancers, immune system problems and developmental issues.

“These are man-made synthetic chemicals that contain poly- or perfluorinated carbons,” said study co-author Michael Zhuo Wang, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Kansas. “They’re used in industry to make products like Teflon, anti-water coatings and firefighting foams. They have wide industrial applications. The problem is they don’t break down very easily in the environment.”

Wang said these chemicals stay in the environment, move around in soil and water, and eventually end up in drinking water.

“Our body can absorb these compounds into the blood and tissues, and we don’t have the capacity to break them down either,” he said. “So, they accumulate in the body. Some studies show half-lives in the range of five to eight years in blood. More and more epidemiological studies suggest they may be associated with health issues, including developmental issues and certain cancers. Kidney cancer and testicular cancer in men are two that have been mentioned in recent studies.”

Because of these serious health concerns, there’s a move among U.S. lawmakers to tighten regulations of PFAS in drinking water. However, to comply, private and municipal labs will need to be able to economically and effectively detect PFAS compounds in ultra-trace amounts.

“The current EPA regulation limits some PFAS in drinking water to about 4 parts per trillion. Depending on the compound, regulated levels range roughly from 4 to 10 parts per trillion,” Wang said. “They also have maximum contaminant level goals, which suggest ideally there should be zero. So, the target is essentially no detectable PFAS.”

Yet to determine whether PFAS are below the 4 parts-per-trillion level, labs need extremely sensitive tests beyond what’s capable at typical labs that analyze municipal drinking water.

“The biggest challenge is sensitivity — how to go down to sub-part-per-trillion levels. Detecting PFAS at this low level is like finding a few grains of sand in an Olympic-size swimming pool,” Wang said. “The most sensitive instrument is LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry). But without sample pre-concentration, it only reaches parts per billion, which is about a thousand times higher than the parts-per-trillion level.”

The KU researcher said current EPA methods require concentrating the water sample first, a time-consuming process.

“Typically, you start with 500 milliliters of water and use solid phase extraction to concentrate it before analysis,” Wang said. “That concentration step is what drives time and cost. It requires large sample volumes, and the process is slow.”

The KU researcher and his lab members, doctoral student Deepak Timalsina, who served as lead author of the study, and co-author Bhargavi Srija Ramisetty, a recent doctoral student, sought to develop more practical, economic and time-saving approaches to detecting PFAS that are accurate and scalable.

To do so, they combined fast-flow solid-phase extraction (SPE) for concentrating PFAS from water samples with UPLC-MS/MS (Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry) for very sensitive chemical analysis.

“The biggest improvement in our method is time reduction in sample concentration,” he said. “We reduced the time from hours to minutes. For a 500 milliliter sample, it used to take about 100 minutes to load. Now it takes about 6 to 8 minutes, about a 20-fold reduction. To push detection even lower, you need larger volumes — up to 4 liters instead of 500 milliliters. That’s an eightfold increase in volume.”

With the original method, the same process would take about eight times longer, more than a half-day just for loading sample onto SPE cartridge.

“With the fast-flow approach, we can do that in about 60 minutes,” Wang said.

In addition to cutting the time involved in preparing samples, the KU process for fast-flow solid-phase extraction slashes the price of PFAS analysis.

“What worried me most is the cost of current methods,” Wang said. “Today, each sample can cost at least $400 to $500 for analysis in the marketplace. That’s too expensive to fully implement EPA regulations across all water treatment plants. The goal is to reduce that cost so water bills don’t increase significantly due to monitoring requirements.”

One impediment to broader, more rigorous PFAS sampling is the complexity and expense of sending heavy volumes of water from drinking-water processing plants to testing labs.

“One challenge is logistics, shipping large water samples from the field to labs,” Wang said. “Samples can be 500 milliliters or even 4 liters. That’s heavy and inconvenient to transport.”

To address the problem, today Wang’s team is collaborating with InnovaPrep, a company based at KU Innovation Park with funding from an NIH Small Business Technology Transfer grant.

“The idea is to develop a concentrating device, like a pipette-based system, that absorbs PFAS from water,” Wang said. “Instead of shipping large water volumes, you would ship a small, pencil-sized device to the lab. That would greatly reduce shipping cost and complexity.”

Wang said currently it’s too expensive to fully implement EPA regulations across all water treatment plants. He believes the expense of shipping and testing will continue to be a chief hurdle to detecting PFAS compounds.

“Our goal is to reduce that cost so water bills don’t increase significantly due to monitoring requirements,” he said.

DOI

10.1371/journal.pwat.0000501

Conifers are making a comeback in Quebec’s forests, new Concordia study shows

A novel way of measuring canopy composition reveals this population is recovering after decades of decline

Concordia University

image:
Jennifer Donnini and Angela Kross
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Credit: Concordia University

An analysis of Quebec’s forest inventory data developed by Concordia researchers reveals that the conifer population is on the rebound after decades of decline.

The growth is driven by an increase in the population of balsam fir, which may reflect a recovery from the last major spruce budworm outbreak (1972 to 1986). This outbreak severely impacted the conifer population in large parts of Quebec.

Published in the Journal of Forestry Research, the study combines open access data from the Quebec government’s long-term forest inventory with a new, AI-trained method of interpreting satellite imagery created by the authors.

“We wanted to see if Quebec’s forests were changing and, if so, would this change be captured using satellite imagery,” says lead author Jennifer Donnini, a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment.

“Understanding this change is important, because the proportion of conifer and deciduous trees can affect forest structure, wildlife habitat, regeneration and how the forest responds to disturbances like insects, fire or harvesting.”

Professor Angela Kross co-authored the study.

Natural cycles at work

The researchers examined nearly 1,800 permanent forest inventory plots across Quebec’s deciduous, mixed and boreal forest regions between 1985 and 2021. The team tracked changes in the proportion of forest made up of conifer species, a measure that reflects how much physical space conifers occupy within a forest stand relative to broadleaf species.

Almost half of all plots studied showed an increase in conifer composition over the study period. The strongest gains occurred in mixed forests, where more than 60 per cent of plots had increases. The researchers also found that forest stands shifted consistently toward becoming more conifer-dominant over time, with virtually no evidence of the reverse trend.

While the importance of the balsam fir population increased across all forest regions, deciduous species such as paper birch, trembling aspen and sugar maple saw their relative importance decline.

The researchers believe the increase in conifers is likely part of a natural cycle rather than an unusual ecological shift. After insect outbreaks or logging disturbances open forest canopies, fast-growing deciduous species often expand quickly. But over time, shade-tolerant conifers such as balsam fir gradually return and regain dominance as forests mature.

“Balsam fir is shade tolerant, meaning it can live in low light conditions and wait for a broadleaf tree like the paper birch to be affected by some sort of disturbance,” Donnini explains. “Then it can grow into the canopy again and become the dominant species, which is what we believe is happening after three decades of decline.”

The researchers suggest that repeated outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar, which targets hardwood species such as birch and aspen, may also have contributed to favourable conditions for fir regeneration.

A simple satellite model

One of the study’s major innovations was combining ground-based forest inventory plots with satellite imagery. The relatively simple model uses only four variables from summer and winter satellite images to track long-term forest composition change over time.

The satellite model successfully reproduced broad regional trends observed in the field data, including the significant increase in conifers cover over time. While the system was less accurate at detecting fine-scale changes within individual plots, it proved an effective way to monitor large-scale forest composition patterns across the decades.

“We hope that this model can help forest managers track conifer composition over time and help them adapt their management goals,” Donnini says. “The remote sensing aspect is useful, because it shows that a relatively simple satellite-based model can monitor changes over large areas accurately.”

This study received funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Read the cited paper: “Tracking conifer composition changes: a ground and satellite based assessment of Quebec’s forests over three decades.”