EXHIBIT 99.1


NEWS RELEASE


                APA OPTICS ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN BOARD OF DIRECTORS

     MINNEAPOLIS  (October  1,  2002)  -  APA  Optics,  Inc. (Nasdaq/APAT) today
announced  that  Gregory  Von  Wald  has  resigned  from  the Company's Board of
Directors.  Mr.  Von  Wald served on the Board since 1997 as a representative of
the  Aberdeen  Development Council, one of the funding sources for the Company's
Aberdeen,  South  Dakota,  manufacturing  facility.

     Anil K. Jain, Ph.D., APA's founder, president, and chief executive officer,
said  Mr.  Von Wald contributed significantly to APA over the years.  "Greg is a
strategic  thinker and was always able to maintain perspective. We thank him for
his  years  of  service  and  will  miss  his  presence  on  the  board."

     APA's  board  of directors will fill the board seat vacated by Mr. Von Wald
by  appointment.

     APA  Optics,  Inc. develops, manufactures and markets advanced products for
the  fiber  optic  network communications, optoelectronics and laser industries,
including  dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) components, ultraviolet
(UV)  detectors  and  devices  for  consumer  UV  monitoring  based  on compound
semiconductor  technology,  nitride  epitaxial  layers and custom optics.  APA's
Internet  address  is  http://www.apaoptics.com.
                       ------------------------


APA Optics, Inc. Contact Information:
- -------------------------------------

Bob Ringstad
Chief Financial Officer
bob@apaoptics.com
- -----------------

763-784-4995
Anil Jain
Chief Executive Officer
infor@apaoptics.com
- -------------------
763-784-4995


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