2002-2005 President's Message

ICO, the Place where the World of Optics meets

It is a great honor, but also a big challenge and responsibility, to take the leadership of the ICO over from Art Guenther. During his three years of office, he succeeded to put to work the new structure of ICO, after the adoption of new Statues by the ICO General Assembly in San Francisco (August 1999), which includes in addition to the traditional Territorial Committee Members also International Society Members. With this move, the ICO made a significant step towards the realization of its vision to become the platform for the global promotion of optics, the place where the information of that is going on locally will be exposed globally: ICO, the Place where the World of Optics meets!

It is also the time to thank all members who are leaving the ICO Bureau after three or more years of activity (T. Asakura, P. Chavel, D.A.B. Miller, J. Ojeda-Castañeda, B.E.A. Saleh, C.J.R. Sheppard) and to welcome those who have been elected (or appointed) members of the new Bureau 2002-2005. Special thanks go to Pierre Chavel, who has served the ICO during 12 years as a loyal and conscious Secretary-General and initiated many actions to improve the visibility of ICO. He has accepted to assist with his experience the new Bureau as Senior Advisor, a new position created "ad personam".

With the admission of 3 new Territorial Committee Members (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), 2 new International Society Members (LAM and OWLS) and 3 new Associated Members (Greece, Tunisia, Morocco) and the geographical distribution of the Bureau members (Argentina, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Sénégal, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA) has the ICO further improved its possibilities to fulfill its objective, as stipulated in the ICO Statutes: "The objective of the ICO is to contribute, on an international basis, to the progress of the science of Optics and its applications. In particular, the ICO promotes international co-operation and facilitates the rapid exchange of information, by encouraging and furthering the organization, on an international basis, of scientific meetings and summer schools. It emphasis actions for the education and training in Optics internationally. It develops special actions for the development of Optics in regions where particular support is needed. It strives to improve the recognition of Optics as a field of science with a significant impact on economy."

To further improve the exchange of information between the ICO Bureau and the Territorial Committee Members, each elected Vice-President has been asked to accept responsibility for personal and regular contacts with about 6 Territorial Committees. Every Territory has now a direct contact with at least one member of the ICO Bureau. The ICO Awards (ICO Prize, ICO Galileo Galilei Medal, ICO/ICTP Award) and the ICO Traveling Lecture Program are best suited to increase the international visibility. The Territorial Committees are emphatically invited to come up with proposals for these actions.

The ICO is aware that optics in developing countries is different from what it is in developed countries, and promoting optics in those countries is one of the things that ICO intends to do in a particularly apt way. Besides the already existing Traveling Lecturer and Proceedings Donation Program, ICO will start as a new action, conducted by G.C. Righini (g.c.righini@ifac.cnr.it), the implementation of a web page with a catalog of documents on education in optics available electronically and at no cost. OSA, SPIE and IEEE/LEOS have agreed to support this action and to propose ways to implement it.

Optics and photonics are enabling technologies. ICO helps to make it happen, through your involvement.

Your President for the next three years
René Dändliker