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International Commission for Optics |
International Commission for Optics |
The Importance of Physics to Society - a Statement adopted by the General Assembly of IUPAP, the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics, March 1999Physics - the study of matter, energy and their interactions - is an international enterprise which plays a key role in the future progress of humankind. The support of physics education and research in all countries is important because :
In summary, for all these reasons, physics is an essential part of the educational system and of an advanced society. We therefore urge all governments to seek advice from physicists and other scientists on matters of science policy, and to be supportive of the science of Physics. This support can take many forms such as :
[Top] Are you ready for ICO XVIII?Congresses of the International Commission for Optics are held every three years in association with a large scientific meeting covering all aspects of optics. ICO XVIII will be held in San Francisco, Ca, August 2-6, 1999. The event is being organized by SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering, on behalf of the United States National Committee for ICO. Registration, exhibition and travel information, as well as the advance program, are available on the ICO web page http://www.ico-optics.org or by e-mail to ico18@spie.org. Aside the scientific meeting will have contributions from 45 countries, ICO XVIII will include the ICO triennial business meeting, where new statutes will be proposed to the members (see below). Two topical meetings are being organized in Cancun, Mexico, July 28-30 as satellite events to ICO XVIII : Light for Life and the 6th International Topical Meeting on Education and Training in Optics. Information : http://www2.uaem.mx/cii. [Top] ICO Ready for New StatutesWith 45 Territorial Committees for members, ICO is a unique organization in the field of Optical Science and Engineering and has been instrumental at setting up the broadest possible geographical representation of our scientific community. With the considerable development of large meetings organized by societies active internationally, ICO has perceived the need to improve its representativity further by offering those bodies an opportunity to join under a new membership category. The business meeting part of the ICO XVIII congress will consider new statutes that have been drafted by the Bureau and circulated to the membership for advice. Under the new rules, there will be two main categories of members : in addition to the present Territorial Committee members, that will automatically conserve a majority of the votes, International Organization members will be introduced. If the new statutes are passed, it is expected that the first members in the new category will include the European Optical Society, the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, the Optical Society of America, and SPIE - the International Society for Optical Engineering. [Top] International Trends in Optics and Photonics : Fourth ICO Book published
Following a decision taken at the 1987 ICO Bureau meeting, ICO established a series of books. One volume is normally published every three years, with the ICO President, Past-President or a former President acting as the Editor. The books are collections of papers on the many faces of optics written by outstanding scientists and engineers, chosen worldwide in accordance with the international character of ICO. Although the presentation is in the form of a technical paper, the style is more informal, and therefore also accessible to readers who are not specialists of the specific topic. Open problems and authors' personal viewpoints are included, thus also providing specialists with valuable state-of-the-art presentations. One purpose of the initiative is to increase ICO visibility and raise additional funds to support ICO activities, among them the traveling lecturer program devoted to the support of optics in developing countries. The royalties, typically paid to the editor and the authors, are instead paid to ICO. The first three books in the series appeared in 1991, 1994 and 1996 respectively under the titles "International Trends in Optics", "Current Trends in Optics" and "Trends in Optics - Research, Development and Applications". They were edited by the three latest past Presidents of ICO, J.W. Goodman, J.C. Dainty and A. Consortini. The fourth book in the series is scheduled to appear in August 1999 under the title "International Trends in Optics and Photonics". It will be published by Springer Verlag as Volume 74 of the Springer Series in Optical Sciences. The book includes the following chapters : Fundamental Optics (General, physical and quantum optics)
Information Optics
Optical Communication (Photonics and optoelectronics)
Optical Materials and Processing
Optical Technologies
Optical Metrology (Optical systems)
Others
[Top] Optical Techniques for Combustion workshop to be hosted by the University of Cape Coast, GhanaICO has a tradition of cooperation with the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS-UNIDO), Trieste, Italy. The University of Cape Coast, Ghana, which is also the seat of the ICO Territorial Committee Ghana/West Africa, together with the KNUST Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kumasi, and the Tema Oil Refinery, will host the ICS UNIDO Workshop on Combustion Diagnostics and Optical Techniques, July 5-9, 1999. Topics will include air pollution due to combustion, modelling of combustion diagnostics, optical measurement methods, emission and absorption spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence, laser Doppler velocimetry, laser probing of combustion. Information: lafoc@ncs.com.gh, fax +233 42 32446. [Top] Forthcoming Events with ICO Participation
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