The top minds in the laser industry from around the world will gather at the Laser Institute of America’s flagship International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro–Optics (ICALEO®) from Oct. 18-22 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chaired by Silke Pflueger of DirectPhotonics, ICALEO 2015 will continue LIA’s tradition of showcasing cutting-edge research that leads to the advanced manufacturing applications that revolutionize medicine, transportation, energy, communications and defense. ICALEO 2015, to be held at the Sheraton Atlanta, will continue last year’s opportunity for speakers to have their papers peer reviewed — lending even more authority to their work.

While ICALEO is renowned for the research it spotlights, it also provides ample opportunities for veteran professionals and promising newcomers to connect at events like a welcome reception, the president’s reception, a vendor reception and the traditional LIA awards luncheon. The works of young participants are acknowledged with the Student Paper Award.

Pflueger, ICALEO’s first female congress general chair, recalls the first time she attended the conference earlier in her career.

“My first ICALEO was in San Diego,” she recalls, around the time she earned her doctorate. Her initial involvement — a presentation about her work — led her to being asked to serve as a session chair and then chair of the short courses held on Sundays. “The first presentation is scary … looking back, I kind of laugh at myself (about) how nervous I was.” And even if attendees’ questions are particularly pointed, “it’s good to take advantage of that, because you learn something from the questions — because people are interested in bringing you further and helping you to (better) understand what you are doing.”

Ultimately, she says, “I hope I can encourage lots of new people, young people, to come and join us.”

Joining Pflueger in assembling the ICALEO program are the following chair members:

• Laser Materials Processing Conference: Christoph Leyens, Fraunhofer IWS
• Laser Microprocessing Conference: Michelle Stock, mlstock consulting
• Nanomanufacturing Conference: Yongfeng Lu, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Business Forum and Panel Discussion: Klaus Loeffler, TRUMPF, and Bo Gu, Bos Photonics

In addition to interacting with peers in their field and others, ICALEO attendees will learn about the latest products and services from top-tier exhibitors and sponsors, including:

• Platinum sponsor: IPG Photonics
• Gold sponsors: TRUMPF, SPI Lasers
• Silver sponsors: Laserline, JDSU, Altos Photonics
• Bronze sponsors: Fraunhofer ILT, Spectra-Physics

ICALEO’s mission is “all about photons that come out of machines,” Pflueger explains. “You have ultrafast lasers. You have different ways of generating light. ICALEO is really about photon-material interaction and what happens when you have a laser and (target it at) something. How do you get the best weld? What new cladding processes can you do?” Of course, advances in laser-based additive manufacturing — more popularly known as 3D printing — will also be discussed at length.

“It’s always interesting to see when people look at the program and they pick a talk here and a talk there — and not necessarily just their special interest,” Pflueger says. “And it’s the same for me; I’m not just going to listen to … presentations that deal with diode lasers, but I’m going to find out the latest things you can do with the femtosecond lasers or … green lasers or 15xx or 2 micron lasers.”

To register for ICALEO 2015, visit www.lia.org/conferences/icaleo. To qualify for exclusive member discounts, read about the benefits of joining LIA at www.lia.org/membership.

About LIA
The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Ste 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.
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