Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Josh Kesselman, founder of HBI Innovations, featured in The Cap Times article on Madison Meet and Greet

By: Newsfile

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 30, 2025) - Josh Kesselman, founder of HBI Innovations, was featured in an article for The Cap Times covering a recent meet and greet at Knuckleheads Madison. Journalist Ashley Rodriguez described the event as a "homecoming" for Kesselman, who opened the first Knuckleheads in Madison in 1995. Kesselman's HBI Innovations is the independent distributor of the RAW® brand of rolling papers and smoking accessories which Kesselman himself launched in 2005.

Cannot view this image? Visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7768/268527_c331293f24790bb6_001.jpg

Josh Kesselman is an icon of the smoking and cannabis industry. He estimates that he's taught "millions and millions of people around the world how to roll" joints. (Josh Kesselman is the founder of HBI Innovations)

Speaking with Rodriguez, Kesselman said, "I had always dreamed of opening a smoke shop"; he noted that he took inspiration from the head shops he saw in the East Village in New York, "because you'd go into these places ... and the people behind the counter, they were free."

Cannot view this image? Visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7768/268527_c331293f24790bb6_002full.jpg

LJ Nelson made a rug woven into the likeness of Josh Kesselman. Nelson gave Kesselman the rug during at meet-and-greet at Knuckleheads. (Josh Kesselman is the founder of HBI Innovations)

Hundreds of fans lined up to meet Kesselman at the State Street outpost of Knuckleheads, a smoke shop with three locations in Madison and Milwaukee. The article mentions LJ Nelson, a fan who attended the meet and greet and gifted Kesselman a custom-made carpet he had woven into his likeness, demonstrating the icon status his decades of work in the industry have brought him. Rodriguez goes on to write that many of the event's attendees "credit Kesselman for legitimizing a culture that kept to the shadows due to legal restrictions and societal norms."

In the article, Kesselman reflected on the changing attitudes towards smoking and cannabis culture in the decades since he opened the first Knuckleheads shop in Madison. "People are much more OK with smoking," Kesselman said. "They understand that it's not the devil's lettuce. Society has changed so much for the better. And I love seeing it this way."

Cannot view this image? Visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7768/268527_c331293f24790bb6_003.jpg

At a meet-and-greet at Knuckleheads, the shop he founded on State Street, Josh Kesselman put a joint into a custom-made RAW ring with a hole on the side. (Josh Kesselman is the founder of HBI Innovations)

Kesselman describes his role in the cannabis community as a "keeper of the culture." In June, it was announced that he had purchased High Times, a cannabis culture publication started in 1974. The magazine featured essays by writers such as Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski. High Times ceased publication in 2024, but Kesselman - along with High Times co-founder Matt Stang - has been working to bring it back to glory.

The article makes Kesselman's reverence for those in the community clear, "So when I see somebody come to a store like this - to come say hi to me - I already know they're one of my people." he says.

The full article can be read here.

Contact: Alexa Oliphant

Email: alexa@mygrasslands.com
Website: https://rawthentic.com/

Source: Grasslands

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/268527

Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.