Orlando, FL, August 28, 2002 -- The Laser Institute of America (LIA) says registration for the upcoming ICALEO (International Congress on Applications of Laser & Electro-Optics) meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, (Oct. 14-17) is ahead of where it was a year ago, with more than 200 registered attendees and 62 vendors signed up so far. Attendance at the annual meeting, which is celebrating its 21st year, is typically around 500.
Considered the premier industrial laser processing conference in the United States and highly regarded by the international materials processing community for its focus on advanced applications and technologies, ICALEO brings together the latest developments in manufacturing applications, photonics and biomedical applications, semiconductor and microelectronics, scientific research, and education. The 2002 meeting will once again focus on laser materials processing and laser microfabrication, with 15 sessions devoted to materials processing technologies and seven sessions devoted to microfabrication technologies.
"While the global economy is going through a slow period, this is the perfect time to generate new ideas and plans," said general co-chairs Raj Patel of IMRA America (Fremont, CA) and Eckhard Beyer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (Dresden, Germany). "Now is the time to invest in trying, testing, and creating new products."
Sessions will include updates on traditional processes including cutting, drilling, welding and surface modification techniques, in addition to innovative new applications ranging from laser cleaning, hybrid processes and systems, laser forming, and laser shock processing. Other sessions will focus on new developments in laser sources, components, and systems. A special session in honor of Prof. Matsunawa of Osaka University highlights progress made over the last two decades in the scientific and technological aspects of laser welding.
While ICALEO has long been regarded a "must attend" among industrial-laser technologists worldwide, it has also suffered from what many consider to be an extremely low profile in the United States. The LIA has been working hard for the past year to change this and attract more of the North American industrial-laser community to the meeting. Of the attendees and vendors that have registered so far for ICALEO 2002, 40% are from outside of the United States, with 23 countries represented.
"Here is a conference that has a very high level of papers dealing with current and future applications of industrial laser material processing from all over the world, and it is intriguing that it doesn't have the same cache in the United States that it has in Europe," says David Belforte, editor/publisher of Industrial Laser Solutions and a member of the ICALEO Advisory Committee. "We don't have in the US the same level of national importance given to laser processing as in other countries, such as Germany and Japan, where there are national programs focused on laser material processing for manufacturing in academia and industry."
For more information, visit www.icaleo.org.
Kathy Kincade
Laser Focus World