Optomechanical Systems Design

In this issue, we present a series of papers addressing, in a variety of ways, the general subject of optomechanical design. That this is an interdisciplinary subject has long been recognized by many of those scientists, designers, and engineers engaged in the evolution of optical instruments. Indeed, Donald H. Jacobs voiced his conviction on this matter way back in 1943 with the words, "In the design of any optical instrument, optical and mechanical considerations are not separate entities to be dealt with by different individuals but are merely two phases of a single problem."1