Peter Knight, a professor of quantum optics and head of the Physics Department at Imperial College, London, was among those knighted last weekend by the British Government in the Queen's Birthday 2005 Honours list. Knight, who was president of the Optical Society of America (OSA) in 2004, was honored for his research in quantum optics. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society, the OSA and the Institute of Physics and a member of the European Physical Society (and past chairman, Quantum Electronics and Optics Division, 1988-1992). Knight has won numerous honors and was coordinator of the UK Science and Engineering Research Council Initiative in Nonlinear Optics. . . . CVI Technical Optics, based in Albuquerque, N.M., has signed an agreement with BFI Optilas, a French distributor of electronics and photonics products, for the distribution of its products and services in Europe -- specifically Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. CVI said it has also established a European price list. Helmut Kessler, general manager of CVI Technical Optics, said the company will continue to invest in improving its European operations, such as increasing inventory of it catalog components, reducing lead-times for delivery within Europe and upgrading its manufacturing and assembly capabilities. CVI makes optical components, mounts and assemblies; it has manufacturing facilities in New Mexico, the Isle of Man and South Korea.