It was evident that there's a lot of excitement surrounding this year's CLEO/IQEC conference, which features more than 300 participating companies and groundbreaking research. On Monday, the Baltimore Convention Center, which boasts a kind of futuristic, angular scaffolding design for its exterior, was bustling with attendees, students, presenters, and those of us toting pink ribbon press badges. While sessions were underway, the showroom floor was humming with activity several floors below - booths being set up, banners being hoisted into the air and fork lifts trucking equipment in and out of the Convention Center for the better part of the day. And as press, we could see it all from the vantage point of the press room, which seemed more like box seats with a bird's eye view of the floor, fresh coffee, nibbles and info at the ready. Graciously greeting the press at this year's CLEO/IQEC (as with most years) were OSA's Colleen Morrison and Angela Stark. Dr. Edward I. Moses, principal associate director for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and Photon Science Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, speaks to CLEO/IQEC attendees Monday night about NIF, the world's largest and most energetic laser system. (Photonics Media photo by Lynn M. Savage)Among some of the industry's all-stars present this week are plenary session speakers Edward I. Moses of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Federico Capasso of Harvard University, and Alain Aspect of the Institute d'Optique in France. Additionally, during yesterday's sessions there emerged presenters from across the globe who were certainly some of the finest minds in lasers and optics. Some of the many topics included ultrafast optics applications, pollutant and emission sensing, endoscopic imaging, optical packet switchings, frequency conversion, pulse shaping and quantum information to name very few. If the sessions for the remainder of the week prove as first-rate as the ones on Monday, the show will no doubt be dubbed a success. The CLEO/IQEC technical sessions have been well attended. (Photonics Media photo by Lynn M. Savage)The Power Lunch will be held today, in which attendees can participate in high-level discussions with industry leaders and learn how to navigate during this challenging market. Led by organizers Milton Chang, the managing director of Incubic and Chris Myatt, founder and CEO of Precision Photonics Corp., this luncheon affords the opportunity for one-on-one discussions with these experienced professionals who know full-well the best way to maneuver a company through a difficult economy. The showroom floor opens today and will feature quite a mixture of companies, covering every facet of the photonics industry. New product demonstrations will be plenty, as will the latest in technical and business solutions. All-in-all the show seems laced with enthusiasm, which is due in large part to the attendance of the industry's finest researchers, top companies, market professionals and eager students alike. Krista D. Zanolli krista.zanolli@laurin.com