An annual meeting plus

Conard Holton Associate Publisher, Editor in Chief Laser Focus World cholton@pennwell.com

SPIE Optics + Photonics, the society's annual meeting in San Diego (August 21-25), drew an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 5000 attendees and 239 exhibitors. The venue and weather on San Diego harbor were excellent and comments from exhibitors reflected a general confidence in the photonics industry in spite of the news from Wall Street.

Highlights of the technical sessions, including the focus on life sciences and organic photovoltaics, LEDs, and lasers, will appear in Laser Focus World magazine and online at www.laserfocusworld.com. They may be previewed in a blog by senior editor Gail Overton or on the SPIE website.



During the show, SPIE announced the 2011 election results for terms begin in January 2012:
- Eustace Dereniak was elected President. He is a professor at the College of Optical Sciences, Univ. of Arizona.
- William Arnold was elected President-Elect. Arnold is Chief Scientist and Vice President of Technology Development Center at ASML USA, Inc.
- Philip Stahl was elected Vice-President. He is the Senior Optical Physicist and James Webb Space Telescope Optical Components Lead at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
- Brian Lula was elected 2012 Secretary/Treasurer. Lula is the president and CEO of PI (Physik Instrumente).

The newly elected Society Directors, who will serve three-year terms for 2012-2014, are:
- Judy Fennelly, Air Force Research Lab (USA)
- Maryellen Giger, University of Chicago (USA)
- John Greivenkamp, University of Arizona (USA)
- Seung-Han Park, Yonsei University (South Korea)

As the show wound down, the staff of Laser Focus World again had the pleasure of sailing around San Diego harbor as part of our customer-appreciation catamaran cruise.