BELLINGHAM, Wash., June 11 -- Innovations in nanotechnology and organic material will be among the topics explored at The International Symposim on Optical Science and Technology, during the 49th annual meeting of International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), August 2-6 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colo. SPIE's annual meeting is the photonics industry's longest-running event. The Optical Science and Technology Exhibition portion of the meeting provides researchers, scientists, engineers, managers and end users with an opportunity to see the latest trends and commercial developments in nanotechnology and organic materials, optical systems engineering, radiation technologies, remote sensing and space technology, and signal and image processing and sensors. SPIE said more than 2500 submissions from 48 countries have been received for the 60 conferences that are part of the symposium, almost 70 educational courses are being offered and more than 220 companies will be exhibiting their newest product developments. Special member functions, exhibit seminars, panel discussions, workshops, a nanotechnology plenary session and technical group meetings are also planned. The event will also feature a panel on "Life in the Cosmos," including a presentation on astrobiology and the prospects for life in the solar system by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, chancellor of Moratuwa University in Sri Lanka. Among the panelists (via live Web broadcast) will be Michael H. Engel, University of Oklahoma; Richard B. Hoover, NASA National Space Science & Technology Center; Wesley T. Huntress Jr., director, Carnegie Institution of Washington; Gilbert V. Levin, Spherix Inc.; David S. McKay, NASA Johnson Space Center.; Alexei Y. Rozanov, Paleontological Institute (Russia); and Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, Cardiff University of Wales. The Colorado Photonics Industry Association (CPIA) will host seminars on Fundamentals of Intellectual Property, Strategies in Licensing IP, The Technical Expert Witness, Understanding the Legal Process and Lawyers and a panel discussion about photonics clusters (following its quarterly business meeting) that will bring together domestic and international leaders of photonics clusters. They will discuss how clusters can be used to promote economic development, potential growth areas, the evolution and economic impact of clusters and clusters in the US, among other topics. The US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), will sponsor a program, Establishing and Financing International Partnerships for Innovation: How U.S. Industry Works with Russian Technologies that will feature firsthand accounts from representatives of US industry and leading Russian scientific institutions about successful collaborations for developing technologies in the global market. The annual meeting and symposium will also feature workshops on SBIR/STTR programs, effective sales and marketing, and impacting government decision making; a roundtable discussion on the role of organic PV in the future of photovoltaics; a panel discussion on Colorado Women in Optics: From Industry to Academia; and a plenary session in honor of the solar cell's 50th birthday, by Lawrence Kazmerski, director of the National Center for Photovoltaics. The Fourth International Conference on Solid State Lighting will return to the annual meeting this year. Chairs are Ian T. Ferguson, Georgia Institute of Technology; Nadarajah Narendran, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Steven P. DenBaars, University of California/Santa Barbara; and John C. Carrano, of The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). For more information or to register, visit: www.spie.org