Popocatepetl dominates the horizon near Puebla, Mexico, site of ICO-22 in August 2011.
BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA -- The colorful, historic city of Puebla, Mexico, will host a diverse international gathering of leading scientists in August, at the 22nd General Congress of the International Commission for Optics (ICO-22). The congress will be held 15-19 August at the William O. Jenkins Convention Center.
Presentations will cover research in 3D and holographic modeling and imaging, laser-based cancer detection and treatment, nondestructive testing, theoretical optics, nonlinear optics, vision sciences, climate studies, and related topics.
Held every three years, "the ICO congress attracts many of the best scientists, engineers, and educators in optics and photonics," said SPIE Fellow Fernando Mendoza Santoyo, Director General of the Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica and General Conference Chair of the event. "ICO-22 participants will come to Puebla from 57 different countries for this celebration of optics science and technology."
In addition to technical sessions, the congress will include a three-day exhibition featuring the latest in specialty optical technology and products for research, manufacturing, and other applications.
The ICO was organized in 1947 as a self-governing affiliated commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and has been a Scientific Associate of the International Council for Science (ICSU) since 2005.
The ICO plays an important role in promoting optics in international forums, and supports the IUPAP mission to assist in the worldwide development of physics, foster cooperation in the field, and aid in its application toward solving problems of concern to humanity.
ICO members are organizations representing optics researchers and institutes through 50 Territorial Committees all over the world, and several international societies including SPIE that share the mission of advancing optics and photonics.
"As a young newcomer to optics, the first ICO meeting I attended, in Reading, UK, in 1969, gave me the chance to meet some of the giants in optics for the first time -- H.H. Hopkins, Eric Inglestam, Toraldo di Francia, M. Francon, to mention a few," said Joseph Goodman, William Ayer Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and a Fellow of SPIE.
Goodman is among 23 invited speakers who will be featured in the five-day ICO-22 program, as is SPIE President Katarina Svanberg, professor at Lund University Hospital. Goodman will also be honored this August at SPIE Optics + Photonics symposium with a tribute conference and proceedings. The prestigious Joseph E. Goodman Book Writing Award is named in his honor, and is presented biennially under the sponsorship of SPIE and the OSA.
Another participant in that 1969 congress, SPIE Fellow and Past President María Yzuel (Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona), this year will begin a term as the ICO Vice President selected by SPIE. Yzuel served as ICO Vice President elected by the Territorial Committees from 1990-1996, and has chaired the Galileo Galilei Award Committee.
"The prestigious ICO Galileo Galilei Award has helped to identify outstanding contributions to the field of optics which are achieved under comparatively unfavorable circumstances ," Yzuel said. "The ICO Galileo Galilei Award and the ICO-ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award both are very well-regarded, and bring recognition to excellent work that has been done under difficult circumstances."
"SPIE is a committed supporter of the ICO and its mission," said SPIE Executive Director Eugene Arthurs. "We particularly value ICO's strong connection to challenged parts of the world and optical scientists working in adverse conditions, with little or no funding."
In addition to working within ICO toward this mission, SPIE offers free and low-cost access to our published material through INASP (the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) and the electronic Journals Delivery Service of the ICTP, for scientists in qualifying countries.
"Optics, like science in general, provides an opportunity to build global bridges at a time when our shared planet faces challenges," Arthurs said. "We strongly encourage our members to participate in ICO events, and the upcoming meeting in Puebla offers an opportunity to mingle with the global optics community in a beautiful setting."
For more information on the program, see the event website: www.cio.mx/ICO2011.
From left, SPIE President Katarina Svanberg (Lund Univ. Hospital) and ICO President Maria Calvo (Univ. Complutense Madrid) will participate in ICO-22.
Philip Stahl (NASA Marshall Space Flight Ctr.) has served as the Vice President of ICO selected by SPIE since 2005.
María Yzuel (Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona) will take on a new role with ICO this year, beginning a three-year term as Vice President selected by SPIE.
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 180,000 constituents from 168 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent and career and professional growth. SPIE annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions and education programs in North America, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific, and supports scholarships, grants and other education programs around the world.
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