06 November 2006: NUI Galway's Atlantic Laser and Optics Forum (LightForum) holds its first annual meeting on 8 November in the Westwood House Hotel, Galway. The theme of the meeting is the expanding role of photonics (light and laser technology) in manufacturing, and will feature a number of invited international speakers, addressing important topics related to photonics in industry and society in general.

The event will include strategic perspectives from the European Commission, international photonics research and the European manufacturing industry. Attendees will also be updated on recent developments in the Forum and in the Photonics community at NUI Galway, as well as new initiatives designed to make the interaction between industry and the photonics research community simpler and more effective.

Tony Flaherty of the National Centre for Laser Applications, NUI Galway, explained, "Although we may not all realise, photonics has long been a fundamental technology for manufacturing such as telecommunications and information technology. More recently, photonics has become mainstream in areas such as medicine, where poor eyesight is being remedied by laser treatment, and in manufacturing, where laser processing is rapidly becoming the industry standard for many applications. As the use of photonics across industry expands and the Irish economy adapts to become a high-tech knowledge economy, the strength of our photonics research and expertise will be critical".

The Atlantic Laser and Optics Forum provides a framework in which scientists and professionals in industry and the University can explore and develop interactions of mutual interest.

The forum was launched last year and has had a busy year hosting courses, workshops and round-table discussions on topics as diverse as Adaptive Optics and Fiber-Laser Applications in Micro-machining. The Forum is the ideal way to join the laser users community in Ireland and meet professionals in other companies who have had similar issues or experiences relating to laser and optics innovation.

The Forum is free to professionals in Irish industry and more information is available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/lighthouse/news3.html