Highlights of "Scientific Detectors Workshop 2002" The workshop of (in)famous characters in the detector community

This paper provides an overview of the “Scientific Detectors Workshop 2002”, a 5 day meeting held on the Big Island of Hawaii in June 2002. The purpose of this workshop, which is held every 3 years, is to bring together the leading scientists and engineers working in the field of optical and infrared detectors. The 125 participants came from 14 countries on 6 continents and included representation from every major detector designer/manufacturer and 27 astronomical observatories. This paper is a synthesis of the information presented at the workshop. In order to provide context, we begin with an introduction to the use of optical/IR detectors in astronomy and the basic steps in light detection. We then present the major developments in optical and infrared detectors. We conclude with information about the 2002 workshop format and give advance notice of the next workshop, scheduled for 2005.