The Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and the Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO/QELS), to be held May 22-27 at the Baltimore Convention Center, in Baltimore, Md., has a distinguished history as one of the industry's leading events on laser science. CLEO/QELS combines peer-reviewed scientific programming with an applications-focused exhibition to showcase the present and future of this technology. Sponsored by the American Physical Society's (APS) Laser Science Division, the Institute of Electronic Engineers/Laser and Electro-Optics Society (IEEE/LEOS) and the Optical Society of America (OSA), CLEO/QELS provides an educational forum, complete with dynamic plenary speakers, short courses, tutorials and workshops on topics as diverse as its attendees, whose interests include biomedicine, defense and optical communications. Photonic Applications, Systems and Technologies (PhAST) was launched in May 2004 to provide a forum for engineers and applications specialists, with an emphasis on audience/ speaker dialogue. PhAST 2005 topics include Lasers in Manufacturing, Photonics in Homeland and National Security, BioPhotonics Instrumentation, Photonics in Nanotechnology, High-Power Semiconductor Lasers and Active Remote Sensing. Collocated with CLEO/QELS and sponsored by American Physical Society's (APS) Laser Science Division, the Institute of Electronic Engineers/Laser and Electro-Optics Society (IEEE/LEOS) and the Optical Society of America (OSA), PhAST is dedicated to bringing its attendees the latest breakthroughs in photonic engineering applications. With optical sensors, solid-state lighting, optical imaging, and organic LEDs and many other topics packed into five days, it will be a balancing act for attendees to make it to all of the noteworthy sessions, OSA said. Highlights will include the plenary session, a joint CLEO/QELS and PhAST event, and a joint symposium on gravitational wave detection. The plenary will feature four renowned speakers and an awards ceremony; among the awards will be the Charles H. Townes Award and several OSA and IEEE fellowships. LEDs, organic LEDs and solid-state lighting are emerging markets in the industry, and are growing topics of interest at CLEO/IQEC. Shuji Nakamura, a professor at the University of California who is responsible for researching and developing the blue LED, will be a keynote speaker. His topic, Future Prospects for Solid-State Lighting, will include a discussion of potential new devices and LEDs. Christopher Contag, director of Stanford’s Center for Innovation in In Vivo Imaging and codirector of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, will deliver Optical Imaging of Stem Cell Fates and Function, a discussion of how optical imaging can be used to see why stem cells differentiate. Contag is a leading scientist in the field of in vivo cellular and molecular imaging. Deborah Jin, a professor at the University of Colorado and a fellow with JILA, a joint research institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder, will also deliver a keynote address, Fermionic Condensates, about the burgeoning field of ultracold trapped atoms in their lowest energy state. The PhAST plenary address will feature Optoelectronics Industry Development Association President Arpad Bergh, who will speak on key market developments for the industry. Speakers and paper presentations will also cover LEDs and OLEDs, nanoprobes and optical wireless technology, nanoparticle-based contrast agents for diagnostics, applications for the optical frequency comb and advances in techniques for the optical diagnosis of cancer. Joint Symposium In celebration of World Year of Physics, the centennial anniversary of some of Einstein’s greatest theories, CLEO/QELS will hold a joint Symposium on Gravitational Wave Detection that will include a tutorial and six talks by speakers from the US, France, Japan and Germany, about the technologies behind gravitational wave detectors and how lasers are being used in current large-scale gravitational wave projects. PhAST Tracks PhAST feature four one-day symposia and two extended tracks, as well as a number of invited talks. One of the four-day symposia will be a joint symposium in conjunction with CLEO. Business programming will also continue to be an integral portion of PhAST. Among the extended track topics will be Photonics in Homeland and National Security, including optical countermeasures, directed energy systems, optics for biometrics and optics for aircraft protection. PhAST’s business programming will feature various market overviews, funding opportunities and perspectives from business and management leaders. Milton Chang, managing director of Incubic LLC, will host a "power lunch," with CEOs, Nobel laureates and venture capitalists. For more information or to register for CLEO/QELS and PhAST, visit www.cleoconference.org and www.phastconference.org