Davis Monthan Air Force Base, AZ--The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced this week that the Airborne Laser Test Bed -- a megawatt-class 1.3 µm chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) mounted in a modified Boeing 747 and intended to shoot down ballistic missiles in their boost phase -- has been put into "long-term storage" at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

Brussels, Belgium--The annual meeting of Photonics21, scheduled for March 27-28 at the Hotel Husa President Park in Brussels, will focus on the way forward toward the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020 and the founding of a Photonics Public Private Partnership.

Nuremberg, Germany--Leoni, a provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries, has acquired the remainder of j-fiber, completing its 2007 acquistion of 51% of the specialty fiber maker.

San Francisco, CA--You will find extensive coverage of Photonics West 2012 in the form of articles, blogs, and videos appearing on our website in the coming days. The event attracted more than 20,000 attendees, while the expo itself included more than 1200 exhibitors.

Bellingham, WA--Next week's SPIE BiOS and Photonics West exhibitions—which will bring their highest attendance to date—will showcase technologies important to markets such as mobile devices, medical diagnostics, and industrial cutting machines.

Nashua, NH--CLEO and Laser Focus World have put out the call for submissions for their annual Innovation Awards, which honor exhibiting companies that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and made significant contributions in advancing optics and photonics.

San Francisco, CA--On January 23rd, in conjunction with SPIE Photonics West, the W Hotel will host the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar to navigate what lies ahead.  

Evanston, IL--Researchers at Northwestern University have reported that individual gallium nitride nanowires show strong piezoelectricity in three dimensions.

San Francisco, CA--The W Hotel in San Francisco will be the scene of the annual Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, held in conjunction with Photonics West on January 23rd and featuring a Technology Forum on ultrafast, terahertz, and fiber lasers.

Berwyn, PA--Electronic instruments manufacturer Ametek acquired Technical Manufacturing Corporation (TMC), a manufacturer of vibration isolation systems and optical test benches.

Bellingham, WA--In efforts to boost its education outreach mission, SPIE will be supporting optics- and photonics-related education outreach projects through a grants program.