Fiber laser manufacturer Southampton Photonics Inc. (SPI) has appointed John Tinson as vice president of sales. Tinson was previously director of the speciality and telecom business unit at Brand-Rex (part of Novar plc), covering industrial, military, telecom and wireless product portfolios. Prior to that, he was sales and marketing director at Sifam Ltd. before its optical business was sold to JDS Uniphase in 1999. SPI, based in Southampton, England, makes disruptive technology laser products for the industrial, aerospace and communications markets.    . . .    About 1300 attended Photonics North last week in Ottawa, making it possibly the largest optics event ever held in Canada, said SPIE, which cosponsored the event with the Canadian Photonics Consortium. Exhibition attendance was particularly strong, with over 350 walk-ins over the two-day exhibit, including many visitors who traveled from China to attend the show. (See also "Canadian Firms 'Strut Stuff' at Forum," Photonics.com, Sept. 28)