BALTIMORE, Md., June 4 -- The CLEO/QELS 2003 technical exhibition got underway Tuesday at the Baltimore Convention Center with high hopes that attendance at the conference will match last year's 6000. A spokesperson for the Optical Society of America, one of the show's sponsors, said although attendance figures will not be available until later in the week, the numbers are closely tracking last year's. This year, the exhibit floor opens at 9 am, an hour earlier than usual. The earlier start gives attendees an extra opportunity to examine the latest technology developments offered by exhibitors, which pack the hall. The conference continues in the meantime, with an all-time high of 1644 paper submissions -- an 18 percent increase over 2002. According to conference sponsors, the technical program has never been stronger, with 5 plenary presentations, 12 tutorials, 3 poster sessions and 104 invited papers, all focused on the most innovative research in laser technology. More CLEO coverage, photos: www.photonics.com/tradeshows/cleo2003/XQ/ASP/QX/index.htm