Frontiers in Optics 2008
Laser Science XXIV

FiO/LS 2008 was one of the strongest in recent history. This year’s event, led by co-chairs Lukas Novotny of the University of Rochester and Karl Koch of Corning, again brought together the industry leaders who have shaped the field with those who will oversee the breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Conference highlights included several special events, with symposia honoring Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes for their monumental paper 50 years ago, NASA’s 50th Anniversary and Howard Schlossberg of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The Plenary and Awards Session was FiO’s most highly attended event, and included keynote presentations from Nobel Laureate John Mather, Prof. Anton Zeilinger and award winners Peter Knight and James Bergquist. In addition to these special events, industry leader Emil Wolf gave his 50th consecutive presentation at an OSA Annual Meeting, a milestone that recalled many of the successes of his prestigious career.

The technical conference included 829 paper presentations on hot topics in optics such as 3-D virtual reality on mobile devices, new optics for improved solar power generators, a new optical method using algae to convert sunlight into biofuel and a new non-invasive tool for brain surgeons. Several Nobel Laureates were in attendance to present research and give remarks, including Nicolas Bloombergen, Steven Chu and Charles Townes, among others. Conference events drew a record 2,100 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors, while many sessions were standing-room only.

Next year’s event is certain to build on this year’s success! Mark your calendars for FiO/LS 2009, Oct. 11 – 15 in San Jose, Calif.

Technical Conference: October 19-23, 2008
Exhibit: October 21-22, 2008
Rochester Riverside Convention Center

Collocated with Fall Optics and Photonics Congress:
October 20-24, 2008 (Each meeting’s date may vary. Please check individual meetings for exact dates.)
Hyatt Regency Hotel

Collocated with OSA Fall Vision Meeting 2008
October 24-26, 2008
University of Rochester

Chairs Discuss Hot Topics
View all FiO/LS videos
FiO/LS Overview from Chairs	LS Hot Topics
Plenary Speakers
John C. Mather Senior Astrophysicist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr. From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and on to James Webb Space Telescope	Anton Zeilinger Professor of Physics, Univ. of Vienna Director, Inst. of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Acad. of Sciences Photonic Entanglement and Quantum Information
Award Addresses
James Bergquist NIST 2008 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science Recipient Single-Atom Optical Clocks	Peter Knight Imperial College London 2008 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Endowment Recipient Light, Photons and Nonclassicality