The International Conference on Lasers and Applications, Lasers 'XX was an annual conference organized by the former Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics. The conference, known in short by ''Lasers 'XX'' (where XX refers to the particular year), was held at various locations in The United States from 1978 to 2000. The emphasis of these conferences was laser development and in particular the development of high-power lasers. The papers delivered at these conferences were published in a series of hard-bound volumes known as ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers 'XX'' () by STS Press. In total, more than 20 book proceedings were published. A particular feature of these conferences was the organization of high-power panel discussions on timely topics of interest, such as the role of lasers in directed energy and the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), during the presidency of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

.C. P. Wang, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '85'' (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1986).F. J. Duarte, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '87'' (STS Press, Mc Lean, VA, 1988). Noted physicists, including Edward Teller and Arthur Kantrowitz, participated in these discussions. Towards the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

this conference enjoyed the participation of numerous Soviet laser physicists, including prominent authors such as Alexander Prokhorov and Nikolay Basov. F. J. Duarte
''Laser Physicist'' (Optics Journal, New York, 2012).
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A partial list of plenary and invited speakers include (in chronological order): * Amnon Yariv, * John Madey, * Charles K. Rhodes, * Kumar Patel, * Robert Alfano, *

Marlan Scully Marlan Orvil Scully (born August 3, 1939) is an American physicist best known for his work in theoretical quantum optics. He is a professor at Texas A&M University and Princeton University. Additionally, in 2012 he developed a lab at the Baylor ...

, * Colin Webb, * Charles A. Brau, * David C. Hanna,R. C. Sze and F. J. Duarte, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '88'' (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1989). * Serge Haroche, * Julian Schwinger, * William T. Silfvast, * S. E. Harris,F. J. Duarte and D. G. Harris, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '91'' (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1992). * L. M. Narducci, *

Willis Lamb Willis Eugene Lamb Jr. (; July 12, 1913 – May 15, 2008) was an American physicist who shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics with Polykarp Kusch "for his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum". Lamb was able to p ...

, * Norman F. Ramsey,V. J. Corcoran, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '93'' (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1994). * F. J. Duarte,V. J. Corcoran, ''Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '95'' (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1996). *

Theodor W. Hänsch Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch (; born 30 October 1941) is a German physicist. He received one-fourth of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics for "contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb ...

, * Carl E. Wieman, * David J. Wineland, * Anthony E. Siegman, Besides the emphasis on high-power lasers and panel discussions on this subject, many scientific disclosures made at these conferences went on to contribute to, or to inspire, further research in a variety of fields including: * X-ray laser sources * Tunable solid state lasers * Tm:YAG lasers * Rare gas halide lasers * Solid-state organic lasers * Laser dye photostability * Laser crystals * Lasing without population inversion * Electromagnetically induced transparency * Optics communications * Digital imaging * Holography * Faraday filters * Fiber fusesR. Kashyap, The fiber fuse - from a curious effect to a critical issue: a 25th year perspective, ''Optics Express'' 21, 6422-6441 (2013). From ''Lasers '88'' to ''Lasers '96'', the prestigious

Einstein Prize for Laser Science The Einstein Prize for Laser Science was a recognition awarded by the former Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics and sponsored by the Eastman Kodak Company. The prize, awarded in the 1988–1999 period, consisted of a 3-inch brass meda ...

was awarded.

References

External links: conference photographs

Edward Teller gives press conference at ''Lasers'87''
including, right to left,

, John L. Hall, and F. J. Duarte.
Group photograph at ''Lasers'93''
including (right to left) Norman F. Ramsey,

, and F. J. Duarte.
Group photograph at ''Lasers'95''
including (right to left)

, Carl E. Wieman, and F. J. Duarte. {{Soviet Union–United States relations, state=collapsed Cold War Lasers Laser awards and associations Missile defense Science events Soviet Union–United States relations

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...