OFC 2021 is being rescheduled from March 28 through April 1 to June 6-10 in hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic will have abated sufficiently to enable a live event. The event, managed by The Optical Society (OSA) and cosponsored by OSA, the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE ComSoc), and the IEEE Photonics Society, will be held in the originally scheduled location, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
OFC 2020 was held on schedule in March this year, right when the pandemic first took hold in the U.S. (see “OFC stays the course as exhibitor withdrawals increase”). As a large number of companies either pulled out of the exhibit or curtailed the participation of their employees, the event organizers quickly implemented a live/virtual hybrid conference participation scheme (see “OFC 2020 exhibits open; conference sessions available online”). The ability to support both in-person and virtual participation will be retained in 2021, according to the show planners. The conference will include a plenary program with live onsite presentations from three speakers on the latest research and applications in optical communications, they add.
“Since the 2020 conference and exhibition occurred, OFC’s co-sponsors, steering committee, and program chairs have been meeting regularly to ascertain the likely impact of the current pandemic on the event,” said OFC 2021 Steering Committee Chair Seb Savory of the IEEE/Photonics Society and the University of Cambridge, UK. “After careful consideration, having consulted various stakeholders, it became clear that the best solution at this point in time was to shift the timing of OFC, from March to June. By moving the event to these new dates, we not only increase the likelihood that we will be able meet together in person and so [be] able to enjoy both the usual onsite programming and exhibits, but it also better aligns the timing of OFC with other major conferences that have shifted their timing in response to the pandemic.”
The conference programmers have set 12:00 EST January 26, 2021, as the new abstract and summary submission deadline. They say there are interested in proposals related to “optical communications innovation, data center connectivity, machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI), applications of optical networks in 5G, and cloud computing.” Further details on the call for papers as well as other aspects of OFC 2021 will be forthcoming on the event website.
The show organizers expect to return to the traditional March timeframe in 2022.
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