BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA -- SPIE Photonics West opens this week with the largest display of historical and state-of-the-art lasers ever in one place, as the worldwide golden anniversary year of the laser begins.
Photonics West, the largest international photonics, laser, and biomedical optics event, has grown bigger than ever for its debut in San Francisco, Calif. More technical presentations are scheduled than in any past year, and the Moscone Center exhibition halls will hold a Photonics West record number of exhibiting companies. The meeting begins Saturday and runs through Thursday 28 January. Organizers expect 18,000 attendees and more than 1,100 suppliers showing the latest in optics and photonics equipment.
In celebration of 50 years of laser developments, Photonics West includes an extensive display of historical lasers as well as several other tribute events and displays.
More than 3,600 technical presentations will be offered, covering virtually every aspect of lasers, new diagnostics and treatments for cancer and other diseases, optoelectronics for LEDs, solid-state lighting, optical communications, and miniaturization of optics for commercial applications.
Photonics West offers 63 courses covering optical engineering, photonics applications, and professional development. Signaling a rebound in the economy, preregistered course attendance is up by 24%.
The two-day Biomedical Optics exhibition opens Saturday with 178 companies showing innovations and new products for molecular and microscopic imaging, therapeutic lasers and other devices for biomedical optics, nano/biophotonics, biosensors, and spectroscopic analysis.
The Photonics West exhibition Tuesday through Thursday will include 1,142 exhibiting companies. Approximately 175 new product launches are scheduled, and product demonstrations will be held daily. Displays will include all types of lasers and hundreds of devices, components, and systems for imaging, sensing, and industrial applications.
Exhibition registration is free, and also provides admission to a Job Fair Tuesday and Wednesday, and industry expert panels on the solar market, trends and opportunities in optics and photonics, the laser industry, and silicon photonics for optical interconnects. Conference registration is required to access the technical presentations and other associated activities.
Featured talks by leading researchers in the four symposia include:
Winners of the 2009 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation, cosponsored by SPIE and Laurin Publishing, will be announced Wednesday evening. The program recognizes innovative technology in nine optics and photonics categories, with finalists and winners selected by panel of independent, expert judges.
SPIE is celebrating the laser anniversary through the Advancing the Laser campaign, supported at Photonics West by Biophotonic Solutions, DILAS, Edmund Optics, HellmaOptik, CVI Melles Griot, Newport, New Focus, NUFERN, OptoSigma, Spectra-Physics, Toptica Photonics, TRUMPF, and Laser Focus World magazine, and as a Founding Partner and Sponsor of LaserFest, a collaborative celebration of the science community.
Conference proceedings are published in the SPIE Digital Library in per-paper mode as soon as approved after the meeting, and also in collected print and digital volumes and collections.
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 188,000 constituents from 138 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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