'Optics East' Optical Engineering and Sensor Technology Conference Begins in Boston October 23, 2005; Free Exhibition Opens at 10:00 October 25.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering, will host this year's Optics East conference October 23-26 at the Boston Marriot Copley Place in Boston, MA. Nearly 1000 technical presentations and a free tradeshow exhibition cover the rapidly growing optics and photonics marketplace, with a focus on sensors used to analyze the environment, food, health, telecommunications and product quality.

"Optics East provides a world-class forum for engineers and scientists to discuss new applications using lasers, optoelectronics, optical components and photonics," said Marilyn Gorsuch, event manager at SPIE. "Speakers at Optics East present new methods for creating, controlling and using light within objects as common as Intel computer chips or as specialized as nanowire-based chemical sensors. In 2005 we added a no-charge marketplace seminar in tandem with the free exhibit pass for people who want to learn more about the optics and photonics industry."

Approximately 2000 engineers and scientists from around the world will attend the technical program, which runs October 23-26 and the exhibition October 25-26.

Papers being delivered at Optics East reveal how optical sensors can even detect diseased chickens during processing or the vitamin C content of Kiwifruit. Other topics include optics used in broadband telecommunications to intelligent robots to drug discovery systems to 3D video display to mapping oil spills on sea water.

Nanoscale sensing and nanofabrication (nanometer = one billionth of a meter) are hot topics, as are fiber sensor networks that can detect chemical or biological contamination across a wide area.

Optics East is organized into 25 parallel conferences within programs focused on Sensors and Applications, Life Sciences and Communications/ITCom. In addition, Optics East includes technology transfer tutorials, industry forums, plenary presentations and networking events during which optical engineering and applied photonics are the focus.

Over 100 companies representing the full spectrum of optics and photonics-based devices, components and systems will exhibit at Optics East. The exhibition is free and open to the public October 25-26. New for 2005 is a free market seminar the morning of October 26 with speakers sharing best practices in launching start-up companies, federal technology transfer and commercialization, and optoelectronic industry forecasts including market opportunities for displays, high-brightness LEDs, image sensors, diode lasers, nanotechnology, solar cells and image sensors.

More information about Optics East, an SPIE event, is available at www.spie.org/Conferences/programs/05/oe/

About SPIE

SPIE -- The International Society for Optical Engineering -- is a not-for-profit professional society that has become the largest international force for the exchange, collection and dissemination of knowledge in optics, photonics and imaging. Founded in 1955, SPIE organizes technical conferences around the world and publishes journals, books and proceedings, with technical papers available for download via the SPIE Digital Library. See spie.org for more details.