The International Congress onApplications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®), which is spon-

sored by LIA, has a 23-year history as the con-ference where researchers and end-users meetto review the state-of-the-art in laser materialsprocessing and predict where the future willlead. From its inception, ICALEO® has beendevoted to the field of laser materials process-ing and is viewed as the premier source of tech-nical information in the field.

ICALEO® 2005 will be held Oct. 31-Nov. 3,2005 in Miami, Fla., and will include two con-ferences, the Laser Materials ProcessingConference (LMPC) and the LaserMicrofabrication Conference (LMFC), as wellas a Poster Presentation Gallery and LaserSolutions Short Course. The congress generalchair is Andreas Ostendorf of Laser ZentrumHannover e.V., Hannover, Germany.

This year, featured sessions include laserapplications in the automotive, aerospace, elec-tronics, bio-medical and microfabrication fields.Approximately 200 technical presentations willbe given on the following areas: diode laserapplications, short wavelength and short pulseprocessing, laser cutting, welding and drilling,rapid prototyping and forming, surface modifi-cation, photonic applications, sensing and moni-toring, electronics and MES applications, preci-sion mechanics and photonic components andlaser sources, and modeling, to name just a few.

Who Should Attend ICALEO® 2005?Anyone interested in laser materials pro-

cessing from the basic understanding of theinteraction between a laser beam and a material,to those interested in how a process can be inte-grated and optimized for an application. LIA’s

May/June 2005

LIA TODAYLIA TODAYThe Official Newsletter of the Laser Institute of America

The professional society dedicated to fostering lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide.

13501 Ingenuity Drive, Suite 128; Orlando, FL 32826 Phone: 407.380.1553 Fax: 407.380.5588http://www.laserinstitute.org

Volume 13, Number 2

(Cont. on pg. 6, see ICALEO)

Man Charged for Aiming Laser at Jet

A man accused of point-ing a green laser beam at asmall passenger jet, temporar-ily blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was indicted in Marchunder the federal anti-terrorPatriot Act, reported the Mar.23 issue of Foxnews.com.David W. Banach, whoclaimed he was looking atstars with his daughter, alsowas accused of lying to theFBI about the Dec. 29 inci-dent in which the jet’s wind-shield and cabin were hitthree times with a beam asthe plane approachedTeterboro Airport, Newark,N.J. The charges in the feder-al indictment were similar tothose filed against Banach inan FBI complaint in January;the indictment replaces thecomplaint.

Attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said Banach wasusing the laser for stargazingwhen the plane was hit bythe beam. U.S. AttorneyChristopher J. Christie saidin a statement officials tookthe actions “very seriously,

InThe News...

ICALEO® 2005 Preview

(Cont. on pg. 12, see In The News…)

ILSC® Review

Over 160 laser industry professionalsfrom 10 different countries attendedthe seventh biennial International

Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®), which washeld March 7-10, 2005 in Marina del Rey,Calif. The Laser Institute of America (LIA)sponsors this one-of-a-kind event.

ILSC® is a comprehensive four-day inter-national conference covering all aspects oflaser safety practice and hazard control.Eleven technical sessions and five workshopsaddressed developments in regulatory, manda-tory and voluntary safety standards for laserproducts and for laser use. Laser safetyexperts from all over the world participated indiscussions of research, programs and stan-dards.

ILSC® OverviewThe conference mission is to provide vital

information for people in industry, medicine,government and academia with laser safetyresponsibilities including: laser product design-ers and engineers, laser safety officers, industri-al hygienists, application and instrumentationengineers, entertainment lighting producers,laser physicists, physicians, surgeons and nurs-es, educators, biomedical and biophysicalresearchers and government and military per-sonnel. In meeting this mission, ILSC® featuredpapers on the following topics: worldwide safe-ty standards, operational policies and practicesof lasers, bioeffects, laser light shows and dis-plays, non-beam hazards, measurements andglobal acceptance, protective systems and

(Cont. on pg. 7 see ILSC)

Editor-in-Chief..................Peter Baker

Managing Editor...................Kris Stell

Contributing Editor ..............Jack Dyer

Copy Editor ..................Barbara Sams

Copy Editor......................Anja Selnau

Editorial Staff

LIA TODAYLIA TODAY

May/June 2005 2

Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professionalsociety dedicated to fostering lasers, laser applications and

laser safety worldwide. LIA is the secretariat and publisher ofthe ANSI Z136 series of laser safety standards, and is a leadingprovider of laser safety education.

LIA offers educational programs, conferences and sym-posia on the applications of lasers and electro-optics. LIA’sannual International Congress on Applications of Lasers &Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) features the world’s foremost meet-ing on laser materials processing. The biennial InternationalLaser Safety Conference (ILSC®) covers all aspects of lasersafety practice and hazard control.

If you would like more information about the LIA, call407.380.1553, 1.800.34.LASER or visit our home on the Web:www.laserinstitute.org.

LIALIA TTODAODAYYThe Official Newsletter of the Laser Institute of America

LIA TODAY is published bimonthly and strives to educateand inform laser professionals on laser safety and new trendsrelated to laser technology. LIA members receive a free sub-scription to LIA TODAY and the Journal of Laser Applications®,

in addition to discounts on all LIA products and services.The editors of LIA TODAY welcome input from their readers.

Please submit news-related releases, articles of general interest andletters to the editor. Mail us at LIA TODAY; 13501 Ingenuity Drive,Suite 128, Orlando, FL 32826, fax 407.380.5588, or send materialby e-mail to lia@laserinstitute.org.

If you are interested in affordable advertising space in thisnewsletter or a subscription, please contact Jim Naugle at407.380.1553 or 1.800.34.LASER.

Volume 13, Number 3 May/June 2005

IN THIS ISSUE...

Features

Depar tmentsIn The News..............................1

Calendar of Events....................2President’s Message..................5

Executive Director’s Message ....................................5

Members In Motion................12

JLA Update ............................12

Welcome New Members ......13

LIA Announces ......................15

For a complete list of LIA corporate members, visit our corporate directory online at www.laserinstitute.org.

Adver tisersKentek........................................4

Laser Focus World....................6

Laser Safety Training ............16

Lee Laser ................................15

Photonics Spectra ....................5

Precitec ....................................12

Rockwell Industries................14

Spiricon......................................7

Trinity Technologies ..............11

Wilson Industries ......................3

Contact LIA for information onany of the above advertisers.

President – William Clark,Clark-MXR, Inc.

President-Elect – Joseph O’Brien, Trinity Technologies, LLC

Past-President – Edward Metzbower, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Secretary – Nathaniel Quick,AppliCote Associates, LLC

Treasurer – Rajesh Patel, 3 R&MConsulting Services

2005 LIA Officers

LIA’s Calendar of EventsFor more information contact LIA at 1.800.34.LASER

or visit www.laserinstitute.org

Laser Safety Officer TrainingJuly 11-13, 2005 • Colorado Springs, CO

Sept. 26-30, 2005 • Portland, OROct. 31-Nov. 4, 2005 • Phoenix, AZ

Dec. 5-9, 2005 • Orlando, FL

Medical Laser Safety Officer TrainingSept. 23-24, 2005 • St. Louis, MONov. 11-12, 2005 • Phoenix, AZ

Applied Laser SafetyAug. 16-17, 2005 • Orlando, FL

Fundamentals of Laser SafetyNov. 15-16, 2005 • San Francisco, CA

ICALEO® 2005Oct. 31-Nov. 3 • Miami, FL

PICALO 2006April 3-5 • Melbourne, Australia

ICALEO® 2005 Preview..........1

ILSC® Review ..........................1

Special Section – ILSC®

Photos ....................................8-9

Do Laser Pointers Present anAviation Hazard? ....................10

LIA Exhibits at Photonics World2005 in Singapore ..................13

LIA TODAY

May/June 20053

LIA’s most recent fiscal year ran fromApril 2004 through March 2005 and itwas a very successful one. In April 2004

we launched our first Pacific International Confer-ence on Applications of Lasers and Optics (PICA-LO) in Melbourne, Australia, co-chaired by MilanBrandt and Erol Harvey. All the attendees enjoyedthe program and our first venture “down under”.

ICALEO® was in October 2004 chaired byRaj Patel and ILSC® chaired by David Sliney wasin March 2005. Both events were very wellreceived and together with PICALO marked thefirst year in which we ran three conferences.

Our certification programs for laser safetyofficers (CLSO) and medical laser safety officers(CMLSO), which enhance the status of laser safetyprofessionals, picked up momentum this year. Andwe continue to provide both scheduled and on-sitesafety programs to achieve our mission to fosterlaser safety.

Last year was also a good year for our LaserSafety Standards program. In addition to revisingcommittee procedures, we completed the revision

of our ANSI Z136.3 Safe Use of Lasers in HealthCare Facilities as well as having it successfullypass an ANSI audit.

We also completed, gained ANSI approvaland published the new ANSI Z136.4 RecommendedPractice for Laser Safety Measurements forHazard Evaluation. Sale of these documents gavea welcomed boost to our publication sales andtogether with increased conference revenue andcontinued strong revenues from safety courses andcertification increased our revenues to $2.16 mil-lion and yielded a surplus of $73,710, more thandouble our projection.

In summary, we continued to carry out ourmission to foster lasers, laser applications andsafety worldwide. We provided increased confer-ence, certification and standards activities andachieved a working surplus to contribute to ourfinancial stability. We thank everyone who con-tributed to our success.

Thank you!

LIA TODAY

May/June 20055

Executive Director’s Message Another Successful Year for LIA

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Read the Industry’s Leading MagazineGet The Information You Need To Stay Ahead.Photonics is a fast-paced technology, and keeping up with theday-to-day developments in optics, lasers, fiber optics, electro-optics, imaging and optical computing has never been so critical.

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To Get a Free Subscription on our Website, visit usat www.photonicsspectra.com and click on Subscriptionsor call (413) 499-0514.

LIA TODAY

May/June 2005 6

ICALEO , cont. from pg. 1

4VCTDSJCF�UPEBZ�XXX�MBTFSGPDVTXPSME�DPNXXX�JOEVTUSJBM�MBTFST�DPN

goal for ICALEO® 2005 is tobring both academic andindustrial people together whomay benefit from laser tech-nology. This includes end-users and scientists as well asengineers and technicians

engaged in developing lasertechnology.

Conference Sessions and Events

The plenary session will beheld Monday, Oct. 31. The

LaserSolutionsShort Coursesare a multi-day programdesigned toprovide man-ufacturingprofessionalsa choice oflaser-relatedshort courses,each address-ing the capa-bilities oflasers toimprove man-ufacturingmethods. Theshort courseswill provide

attendees with a broad-basedunderstanding of how the prac-tical applications of lasers aremaking an impact on manufac-turing and provide resourcesfor further information.

The LMPC session cover-age includes applications in theaerospace, automotive, biomed-ical, and laser safety fields, andprocesses such as advancedmachining, direct metal deposi-tion, forming and cleaning, andwelding, as well as systemssuch as advanced laser sources,fiber lasers, and hybrid systems.The applications covered by theLMFC sessions include biomed-ical device fabrication, micro-and nanoelectronics production,and processes such as laserablation, laser nanomachining,and ultrafast laser processing, aswell as laser systems.

Vendor & SponsorshipOpportunities

The ICALEO® 2005 vendor

program is unique to the laserindustry, offering the opportu-nity to exhibit at the tabletopdisplay/reception and attend themany technical, social and net-working events that ICALEO®

offers. The vendor programwill be held Tuesday, Nov. 1,from 5-8 p.m.

ICALEO® 2005 also offersvarious level sponsorshipopportunities to give your com-pany or organization added vis-ibility. Sponsors receive a vari-ety of value-added benefits. Fora complete list, visit www.ica-leo.org or contact Beth Cohenat 800.34.LASER, or bco-hen@laserinstitute.org.

Find Out MoreThe ICALEO® Advance

Program is now available andcan be viewed and a PDF ver-sion downloaded at www.ica-leo.org. For more information,visit the website or contactBeth Cohen.

ICALEO® 2005 At A Glance• Plenary Session • Laser Materials Processing Conference• Laser Microfabrication Conference • Poster Presentation Gallery • Laser Solutions 2005 – A series of short

courses designed to provide manufacturingprofessionals a choice of laser related subjects.

• Student Paper Award – Student papers will beevaluated and judged by ICALEO® conferenceand session chairs.

• Laser Industry Vendor Reception & Table TopDisplay – Exhibitors and attendees have theopportunity to meet and share wine, cheese,and product ideas.

• Schawlow Award Luncheon – Enjoy lunchwith colleagues followed by the 24th awardpresentation.

• Networking Opportunities – Meet colleaguesfrom around the world!

devices, training pro-grams, laser safety inhealth care facilities,lasers in telecommunica-tions and laser safety inR&D labs. Additionally,workshops that providedthe attendee with a broad-based understanding oflaser safety and hazardcontrol were also held.

Additional EventsAdditional activities

during ILSC® included alaser safety vendor table-top display featuring 12

vendors, an awards recep-tion and the plenary ses-sion titled “All Lasers –Large and Small.”

The George M.Wilkening AwardReception was heldMonday, Mar. 7. Thisaward was first presentedin 1997 and was namedafter the first ANSIAccredited StandardsCommittee ChairmanGeorge Wilkening. It rec-ognizes individuals whohave made extensive con-tributions to laser safety inscience, medicine, indus-try or education. See boxon page 9 for the winner.

New this year was theinaugural R. JamesRockwell Jr. EducationalAchievement Award. Thisaward is intended to honorthe late Jim Rockwell, anLIA past president whoplayed a pioneering rolein developing laser safetystandards and training.This award was also pre-

sented during ILSC®.

And LastlyLIA would like to

thank General ConferenceChair David Sliney of theU.S. Army CHPPM, APGin Maryland andConference Chair JohnO’Hagan of the NationalRadiological ProtectionBoard, Didcot, Oxford-shire, U.K. and all theother volunteers whomade ILSC® 2005 such agreat success.

The ILSC® conferenceproceedings are nowavailable and contain allthe presented papersand/or abstracts includingthe plenary session. Theycan be ordered online atwww.laserinstitute.org orby calling 800.34.LASER.Price for LIA members is$110 or $130 for non-members.

ILSC® will be heldagain in 2007, the site anddates are still being deter-mined. For more informa-tion, visit www.laserinsti-tute.org/conferences orcontact ConferenceDirector Beth Cohen atbcohen@laserinstitute.org.

All in all, the well-rounded format found atILSC® 2005 proved atremendous source ofinformation and over-flowed with networkingopportunities for profes-sionals in all fields andapplications.

LIA TODAY

May/June 20057

ILSC , cont. from pg. 1

ASC Z136 Annual MeetingAccredited Standards Committee (ASC) Z136 held their annual

meeting in Marina del Rey, Calif. on Sunday, March 6, 2005 priorto the opening of the International Laser Safety Conference(ILSC®). The meeting was well attended, with a record number ofobservers present, many of whom are now seeking membership onthe committee.

In his opening remarks, Peter Baker welcomed all to the meetingand thanked the committee for its continuing efforts. He singled outStephen Trokel and David Sliney for their contributions to the revi-sion of the Z136.3 standard, and Sheldon Zimmerman and RobertThomas for the completion of the long-awaited Z136.4Recommended Practice for Laser Safety Measurements for HazardEvaluation. Special thanks went to Tim Hitchcock and Barbara Samsfor their work on the ANSI audit.

Baker then announced the reappointments of Ron Petersen andJerry Dennis as ASC Z136 Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Thecommittee unanimously approved both appointments. SheldonZimmerman was reappointed as committee secretary for a secondterm.

In addition to status reports from each subcommittee chair, themembership was briefed on proposed changes to the operating pro-cedures deemed necessary as a result of the findings of the ANSIspecial audit, which took place in November 2004. Changes includere-ordering of the standard development process and clarification ofthe appeals process.

Robert Thomas closed the meeting with a presentation on thez136.org website. He explained many features of the site, several ofwhich were set up specifically to aid subcommittee chairs with man-agement of their committee.

Following the meeting, committee members and conferenceattendees alike gathered in the Palm Court where all enjoyed theILSC® Kick-off Meet & Greet Fiesta sponsored by ASC Z136.

Interested in participating on ASC Z136 or one of its subcommit-tees? Contact Barbara Sams at the Laser Institute of America, 407-380-1553 or email bsams@laserinstitute.org for more information.

LIA TODAY

May/June 2005 8

The BALSO crew from left: Dewey Sprague,Eddie Ciprazo, and Ken Barat.

David Sliney and John O'Hagan

LIA Staff fromleft: Peter Baker,Beth Cohen,Barbara Sams,Gus Anibarro,Rich Greene andJim Naugle.

The Meet & Greet Fiesta provided a great networkingopportunity.

The Marina del Rey Marriott was the host hotel. The view of the marina was outstanding.

LIA TODAY

May/June 20059

The presentations and sessions during ILSC® were wellattended and covered a range of topics.

LIA staff members Barbara Sams, above, andRich Greene, below, were each presented witha 10-year service anniversary plaque duringthe conference by LIA’s Peter Baker.

The 2005 George M. Wilkening Award was presented bythe executive committee of the Laser Institute of

America Board of Directors to David H. Sliney, Ph.D. duringILSC® 2005. The award is in recognition and appreciation ofDr. Sliney’s extensive contributions as a pioneering leader inthe field of laser safety for the last 30 years. Sliney, a programmanager for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion andPreventive Medicine Laser/Optical Radiation Program, wasinstrumental in establishing the American National StandardsInstitute ASC Z136 committee and has been tireless in support-ing the development of laser safety standards both nationallyand internationally.

He has been active in the establishment of health and safetystandards for protection of the eye and skin from lasers andhigh-intensity optical sources since 1965 and proposed the firstlaser exposure limits for the Army Surgeon General’s Office,and played a key role in the development of the first thresholdlimit value exposure limits for laser radiation, for ultravioletradiation and for visible and infrared radiation. His work con-tributed to the first ANSI Z136.1 standard in 1973.

Additionally, he has served for more than two decades as

chair of the subcommittee on hazard evaluation (TSC2-2) and aschairman of the Safety Committee of the LIA; has twice beengeneral conference chair of ILSC®; has served as a U.S. delegateto the Committee TC-76 of the International ElectrotechnicalCommission, and has long been the chairman of Working Group1 of TC-76. He also serves on several other national and interna-tional committees all dealing with laser safety, and has publishedover 200 scientific papers on subjects related to laser hazardsand laser applications in medicine and surgery.

2005 Wilkening Award Winner

David Sliney received the Wilkening Award fromLIA’s Peter Baker.

Diane Rockwell and son Greg receive the inaugural Rock-well Award named after her late husband Jim Rockwell.

Recent reports ofaviator crews being“blinded” by visi-

ble green laser beams led tospeculation in the media of apossible security issue, butmany have wondered whythere was the flurry of newreports after a period of rela-tive quiet on the misuse oflaser pointers.

Visible laser beams createda stir about a decade ago inthe aviation community fol-lowing a flurry of incidents oflaser beam illumination of air-line cockpits at night duringfinal approach at several air-ports around the United States.At that time, laser lightshows,using multiwatt argon andkrypton lasers, had come intocommon use to attract cus-tomers to casinos in Las Vegasand elsewhere. Xenon-arcsearchlights had been used fordecades at the opening ofevents or at special events toattract people in the surround-ing countryside at night. Pilotshad grown accustomed to suchsearchlights, however, andthere hadn’t been any strongefforts to control the use of

searchlights in regulated air-space. The laser illuminationincidents in the 1990s did notcause any documentedinstances of permanent retinalinjuries, but the FAA updatedits guidance (FAA 7400.2D;now 7400.2E) for use of lasersin the airspace to address theimportant safety issue of dis-tracting aircrew during takeoffand landing.

Pilot ConcernsA survey of pilots was

conducted by the SouthwestAirline Pilots Association inthe 1990s and reported at theInternational Laser SafetyConference in 1997 (Sliney;1997). Incidents of illumina-tion by searchlights were com-pared with lasers and typicallymost pilots felt that they hadnever been bothered by anyhigh-intensity searchlight atdistances of much more than 2to 3 km; whereas, afterimages,distraction, and similar visualdisturbances were experiencedout to 5 or even 9 km fromlaser beams. The duration ofafterimages or distraction afterlaser illumination was greater

than that reporteddue to searchlights.

Aviators whohave been frequent-ly illuminated, suchas some low-flyingurban helicopterpilots, have learnedto maintain aircraftcontrol, not to stareinto a laser beamand to limit anydirect viewing ofthe laser. Propertraining and situa-tional awarenesscan apparentlyreduce startle anddistraction from

visual effects. Aviators whoare familiar with occasionalsearchlight illuminations havecome to accept these, wherethe actual illumination levelsare similar to light-show lasersand certainly greater thanfrom laser pointers. In addi-tion, dirty or scratched wind-screens tend to increase scatterof light and can sometimesproduce a more dramatic visu-al effect.

Mean Green BeamsClass 3A laser products are

now also termed Class 3R laserproducts and have an output-power emission between 1 and5mW. These lasers are in atransitional category betweenpower levels at which the aver-sion response (blinking andturning away) provides protec-tion against injury and powerlevels at which the aversionresponse is inadequate and reti-nal injury becomes more likely(Class 3B).

Amateur astronomers arenow using green laser-pointerbeams with output powers of5mW and even higher, topoint out objects in the nightsky. Most are unaware of thepotential risk to aircrewsshould they directly illuminatea plane. The U.S. ArmyCenter For Health Promotionand Preventive Medicine(CHPPM) acquired a numberof commercial laser pointersand noted that some laserslabeled as Class 3A wereindeed 3B with output powersof the order of 10 to 20mW.

Temporary visual effectson aircrew vary, but theyrange from startle or distrac-tion to discomfort and disabil-ity glare with dazzle and evenafter-images or flash blind-ness. Startle refers to an inter-

ruption of a critical task dueto the unexpected appearanceof a bright light such as alaser beam, whereas glare anddazzle refer to a bright lightthat makes it difficult to see,such as oncoming headlightsor momentary laser pointerexposure. These visual effectslast only as long as the light ispresent. As the sun sets andbackgrounds become darker, asmall laser at a distancebecomes more visible. It isunlikely that real after imageswould be produced by therecently reported aircraft inci-dents related to ground-basedlaser pointers. Afterimagesmay occur with laser lightshow beams, which are a hun-dred to a thousand timesbrighter.

In most individuals theaversion response protectsagainst risk of eye damagefrom accidental viewing ofClass 3R commercial laserpointers even at relativelyclose distances. Brief expo-sures during the performanceof critical tasks, however, canbe disruptive and could causeaccidents.

Editor’s Note This article is reprinted

with permission ® 2005 LaserFocus World. A more detailedversion of this article is avail-able exclusively on the LaserFocus World website atwww.laserfocusworld.com/articles/220602.

David Sliney (David.Sliney@apg.amedd.army.mil) is aphysicist and program man-ager at the U.S. Army Centerfor Health Promotion andPreventive Medicine,Aberdeen Proving Ground,Maryland.

LIA TODAY

May/June 2005 10

Unexpected illumination, even fromnoncoherent sources such as con-ventional searchlights, is capable ofgenerating visual distractions in air-craft cockpits.

Do Laser Pointers Present an Aviation Hazard?By David Sliney

LIA TODAY

May/June 200511

LIA TODAY

May/June 2005 12

and we will not condonelying to federal agents.”

Banach faces up to 20years in prison if convictedof interference with pilotsof an aircraft “with recklessdisregard for the safety ofhuman life,” a provision ofthe USA Patriot Act passedfollowing the Sept. 11 ter-rorist attacks.

Photonic Crystal Slows Down Light

Halice Altug and JelenaVuckovic of StanfordUniversity have succeededin reducing the group veloc-ity of light by a factor ofmore than 100 in a noveltwo-dimensional photoniccrystal, reported the Mar. 29issue of Optics.org. Thedevice could be used for avariety of optical applica-

tions and components,including high-power pho-tonic crystal lasers with lowthresholds (Appl. Phys. Lett.86 111102).

Photonic crystals arenanostructured materials inwhich a periodic variation ofthe dielectric constant of thematerial results in a photonicband gap. Photons withwavelengths or energies inthis gap cannot travelthrough the crystal. By intro-ducing defects into photoniccrystals it is possible to buildwaveguides that can channellight along certain paths.

Two types of velocity areused to describe the propaga-tion of a wave in a dispersivemedium: the phase velocityand the group velocity. Thephase velocity is the speed atwhich light of a single wave-

length moves. However, apulse of light contains arange of wavelengths that allmove at different speeds, sothe group velocity is definedas the speed at which thepulse itself moves. Lowgroup velocities are benefi-cial for many device applica-tions because they enhancethe interactions between thelight and the material in thedevice.

Altug and Vuckovicmade an array of 3600microcavities in a slab of sil-icon that had an area of100µm2. The holes in thearray were 400nm across andthe period of the crystal was500nm. The pair found thatthe group velocity of a laserpulse was reduced by morethan a factor of 100 when ittraveled through the array.

In The News, cont. from pg. 1

The Journal of Laser Applications®

offers the latest refereed papers by leadingresearchers in the laser community. Theupcoming August 2005 issue includespapers from materials processing, sensingand safety. Look for the online version atwww.laserinstitute. org/publications/jla/.To view the journal online, please makesure your membership is current.

The JLA® is published four times a

year by the Laser Institute of America inFebruary, May, August and November. Itis sent to all LIA members as a memberbenefit. For nonmembers of LIA, call theAmerican Institute of Physics at 1.800.344.6902 for subscription information.

Sign up at http://scitation.aip.org/jla/alert.jsp to receive your JLA tableof content e-mail alerts.

Journal of Laser Applications® Update

Ball Moves to PresidentDirected Light Inc., San Jose, Calif.,

recently announced the resignation of itspresident. In light of this, DirectedLight’s Chief Executive Officer MichaelMcCourt has appointed Neil Ball asDirected Light’s president. Ball has over20 years of experience in the laser indus-try, 13 of which have been in increasinglyresponsible roles at Directed Light, mostrecently serving as general manager. Ballis a member of the board of directors ofthe LIA and is actively involved in the

promotion of the laser industry through-out the world.

Distributor Required Bigneat Ltd., Waterlooville, UK, con-

tainment technology is looking for a dis-tributor in the U.S. to promote its rangeof laser plume/fume extraction systemsthat provide operator protection andenhanced laser coding and marking quali-ty. For further information contact RobertMonks at rmonks@bigneat.com, or visitwww.bigneat.com.

Members In Motion

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Partyasarathy Parishram, Fayetteville, AR

Tim Rickard, Boulder, COStuart Cohen, Norwich, CTWilliam Benner, Orlando, FLDebbie Emberton, Tipton, INSusan Sharp, Kokomo, INDavid Tyree, Vincennes, IN Cynthia Livingston, St. Louis, MO

Kendall Berry, Blackwood, NJThomas Cobb, Bowling Green, OHRobert Hainsey, Portland, ORRickie Schadler, Reading, PALoretta Mauldin, Frisco, TXLuz Cheng, Galveston, TXAnsul Khan, Manassas, VAMark Slonchka, Toronto, ON, CanadaAnders Ryberg, Trollhattan, Sweden

Welcome New LIA Members

• Kaman Dayron, Inc., Orlando, FL• NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

• Quintessence Photonics Corp., Sylmar, CA

For a complete list of corporate members, visit our corporate directory at www.laserinstitute.org.

Corporate Members

Individual Members

The 3rd International Exhibitionon Photonics Equipment andTechnologies in Southeast

Asia, held May 4-6, 2005 in Suntec,Singapore, brought together a widediversity of multi-national corporationsand technical professionals from aroundthe globe. This event provided theopportunity to source, network, establishbusiness contacts, and discover the inno-vative breakthroughs of this new era.

The exhibition drew the attention ofover 200 companies from more than 20countries, as well as pavilions frommany countries/areas. These pavilionsinclude Singapore, Hong Kong, theUnited Kingdom, the U.S., Australia,Korea, China, Europe and Fiber to TheHome (FTTH) Council, with Singaporeleading as the largest pavilion to date.

Thanks to the efforts of Dr. LimGnian Cher from the Singapore Instituteof Manufacturing Technology and hisstudents on behalf of LIA, the societywas able to reach potential customers

from Southeast Asia and abroad. Keyinterest items were safety training,ANSI standards, LIA’s conferences,membership and laser training aides.

The LIA continues to fulfill its mis-sion to foster lasers, laser applicationsand laser safety around the globe byparticipating and distributing informa-tion in order to grow and inform thelaser industry.

LIA Exhibits at Photonics World 2005 in Singapore

Attendees at the exhibit wereshown information on LIA’s ben-efits, goods and services.

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BLS Exam DatesThe Board of Laser Safety™ (BLS) will

be offering Certified Laser Safety Officer(CLSO) exams July 22 in Cincinnati, Ohio,July 30 in San Diego, Calif. and Aug. 19 inDenver, Colo. The exams will be helddirectly after LIA’s LSO training courses.

BLS will also be offering CertifiedMedical Laser Safety Officer (CMLSO)exams July 15 in Cincinnati, Ohio and Aug.12 in Denver, Colo. after LIA’s MLSOcourses. Cost is $300 for either exam as wellas the application. For more informationcontact Rich Greene at bls@lasersafety.org,800-345-2737, or visit www.lasersafety.org.

PICALO CFP, Date ChangeA call for papers has been issued for

LIA’s newest conference PICALO (PacificInternational Conference on Applications ofLasers and Optics). Papers sought coversuch topics as aerospace, cutting anddrilling, welding, manufacturing, research,software, and hybrid processes. Abstractsmust be submitted by Sept. 1, 2005. Theyshould contain original, recent unpublishedresults of application research, developmentor implementation.

Additionally, the date for PICALO wasrecently changed, and the conference willnow be held Apr. 3-5, 2006 in Melbourne,Victoria, Australia, instead of the before-advertised May 15-17, 2006. PICALO willfocus on the growth and application of lasersand optics in the Pacific region. Visitwww.laserinstitute.org/conferences to down-load the call for papers form or for moredetails, or contact Beth Cohen at 800-34-LASER or e-mail bcohen@laserinstitute.org.

New LIMITSLIA is pleased to introduce LIMITS for

Industrial Laser Safety, an interactive train-ing CD designed for the laser safety officerto train others on the safe use of lasers in theindustrial or research environment. LIMITSfollows the training recommendations setout in the ANSI Z136.1 Safe Use of Lasersstandard and the IEC 60825-1 internationallaser safety standard. This multimedia CD-ROM is dedicated to teaching you howlasers work, the hazards associated withlasers, and what kind of protective measuresare required. Cost for nonmembers is $450or $400 for LIA members.

LHE Software 2.4 & 2.5The Laser Hazard Evaluator (LHE)

Software version 2.4 is a must for every LSOwho is just starting to carry out laser safetyresponsibilities. This unique program incor-porates graphics that show the interaction ofthe laser beam with the human eye and skin.The LHE software is based on the ANSIZ136.1 Safe Use of Lasers and performsrepeated calculations of nominal ocular haz-ard distance, beam irradiance, laser classifi-cation, necessary optical density, and maxi-mum permissible exposure. The LHE soft-ware version 2.4 (pub #302) is $349 for non-members or $299 for LIA members.

Revised and expanded, the Laser HazardEvaluator Software version 2.5 is equippedwith more features for the advanced LSO.Also based on the ANSI Z136.1 Safe Use ofLasers standard, this product will performrepeated calculations of maximum permissi-ble exposure, optical density, nominal ocularhazard distance, nominal hazard zone, andlaser hazard classification. Parameters can beadjusted individually on the screen. This use-ful tool will also give you a printed reportthat uses different evaluation distances foroptically aided, unaided viewing, and skin.Also, the downloadable reports include usercomments and user-defined laser type, bothCW and pulsed values for repetitively pulsedlasers, displays diffuse reflection hazard dis-tances for eye and skin, and the hazard clas-sification. Cost of the 2.5 version (pub #311)is $495 for nonmembers or $450 for mem-bers. Visit www.laserinstitute.org/bookstoreto order a copy of either version.

Visions for Discovery Symposium Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery, a

three-day symposium, will be held Oct. 6-8,2005 at the University of California,Berkeley, and will focus on exploring andadvancing the future of innovative research inphysics. Several events will take place, suchas the Young Scholars Competition, whichwill award over $100,000 in prizes for papersby qualified researchers under the age of 40.Deadline to enter is June 30. There is also theAmazing Light Laser Web Challenge, whichwill award over $65,000 in prizes for Website designs dealing with lasers. For moreinformation contact Metanexus Institute at215-789-2200, or visit www.foundation-alquestions.net/townes/ysc or emailinfo@metanexus.net.

LIA Announces

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LIA TODAY NewsletterLaser Institute of America13501 Ingenuity Drive, Suite 128Orlando, FL 32826

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