( BW)(SPIE) European Commissioner Viviane Reding to Present Opening
Address at Photonics Europe 2006; Photonics21 Strategic Research
Agenda for Photonics will be Delivered to the European Commission

    Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers
    Photonics Europe 2006

    CARDIFF, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2006--SPIE
Europe today announced that Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner
for Information Society and Media, will be the keynote speaker at
Photonics Europe, in Strasbourg, France on 4 April, 2006. The
presentation by Commissioner Reding, titled "Europe at Light Speed,"
is part of the Photonics Europe symposium organized by SPIE Europe.
    At the same event, the Photonics21 Strategic Research Agenda which
sets out priorities for photonics R&D in Europe will be handed-over to
Commissioner Reding by Mr. Alexander von Witzleben, CEO of Jenoptik
AG, Germany and President of Photonics21.
    Business, research and government leaders will meet for technical
conferences, networking events, a high tech exhibition and workshops
to continue the Photonics21 process at Photonics Europe. For example,
a workshop organized by the Photonics 21 technology platform on 7
April in Strasbourg, will bring together top industry executives and
stakeholders from areas including Information and Communication,
Lighting and Displays, Manufacturing, Life Science, and Security, as
well as in Education and Training.
    "The future of photonics research and development is being charted
with Photonics21. This is a very important initiative for business
people and researchers from across Europe and we are very pleased to
be able to host this at Photonics Europe," said Hugo Thienpont,
Symposium chair of Photonics Europe 2006, SPIE Board Member and
Professor at Vrije Univ. Brussel, Belgium. "We invite the optics and
photonics community to join us, where the Tuesday plenary talk by
Commissioner Reding is open to the public, followed by a comprehensive
technical programme with 17 technical conferences spanning optics,
photonics, imaging, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, solar energy and
sensing, plus industry programmes focused on better performance at
lower cost. The strong technical programme and exhibition make
Photonics Europe an essential meeting in 2006 for professionals in the
optics and photonics field."
    The European Technology Platform Photonics21 was set up by
representatives from across the European photonics industry. They
produced a vision document called "Photonics for the 21st Century,"
which was well received by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for
Information Society and Media, and the Directorate for Research.
Photonics21 aims to establish Europe as a leader in the development
and deployment of Photonics in key industrial areas (Information and
Communication, Lighting and Displays, Manufacturing, Life Science, and
Security), as well as in Education and Training.
    The Photonics21 leadership, chaired by Alexander Von Witzleben,
Jenoptik AG, will use this forum to formally hand over their new
Technical Strategy document to the European Commission, represented by
Commissioner Reding.
    "SPIE Europe is delighted to help facilitate the information
sharing and peer-to-peer networking aspects so important to
Photonics21," adds Karin Burger, Manager, SPIE Europe. "Photonics
Europe presents over 1,000 technical presentations covering the latest
technical research and industry programmes -- plus nearly 150
exhibitors -- which makes it the best place for the European photonics
community to understand what is possible today and see what is coming
next."
    The Photonics Europe 2006 technical programme includes over 1,000
presentations covering the latest scientific breakthroughs and
technical achievements. Topics include solid-state and semiconductor
lasers, biophotonics, nanophotonics, optoelectronics, optical sensing,
metrology, MEMS and MOEMS, photonics in multimedia, microwave and
terahertz photonics, photonic integrated circuits, photovoltaics and
concentrators for solar energy, photonics for the automobile, optical
coatings and many other topics.
    Furthermore, the event will feature a European Photonics
Innovation Village showcase under the auspices of the European
Commission presenting research teams from universities, nonprofit
institutions and research centres working on new applications or
product development. Four European Networks and Integrated Projects
that have come out of the European Commission Framework 6 programme in
2004 will also be present to update the audience on their ongoing
projects: NEMO (Network of Excellence in Micro Optics), PHOREMOST
(NanoPhotonics to realize Molecular-Scale Technologies); OLLA (Organic
LEDs for ICT and Lighting Applications); EPIXNET (European Network of
Excellence on Photonic Integrated Components and Circuits). They are
joined by OPERA, the "Optics & Photonics in the European Research
Area" project supporting the foundation of Photonics21 technology
platform.
    Photonics Europe includes an industry applications programme with
experts in business development, commercialization of technology and
best-practices for industry. Elements of the industry track include a
forum on optical coatings, a conference on photonics in the automobile
and a keynote address on Photovoltaic Solar Electricity: Status and
Future by W. Hoffmann, SCHOTT Solar GmbH (Belgium); European
Photovoltaic Industry Association Vice President.
    A special session on national nanotechnology initiatives includes
high-level leaders from Europe, USA and Japan -- the zones with the
highest concentration of nanotechnology research and investment. For
example, the European perspective will be reviewed in a plenary talk
titled, "Nanophotonics: a research agenda from the perspective of the
NoE PHOREMOST," by Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres, Univ. College Cork,
Tyndall National Institute, Ireland, who has been leading The Network
of Excellence for Nanophotonics to realise MOlecular-Scale
Technologies (PHOREMOST). A presentation on the Current Nanotechnology
Policy in Japan and Photonic Materials Research at National Institute
for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, is planned by Kenji Kitamura,
Director, Opto-Single Crystal Materials Research, NIMS, Japan. From
the United States, Sandip Tiwari, Cornell Univ., Director of the U.S.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), will describe
nanotechnology priorities and projects, detailing implications in
photonics research and development.

    Other highlights of Photonics Europe 2006 include:

    --  Latest research on solid-state lighting using OLEDs

    A keynote on the next generation solid-state lighting sources,
achieving very high efficiency white light emission at high brightness
and low cost, will be presented by Stephen Forrest, Univ. of Michigan,
USA and co-founder or founding participant in several companies,
including Sensors Unlimited, Epitaxx, Inc., Global Photonic Energy
Corp., Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ:PANL) and Apogee Photonics,
Inc. The talk titled, "Competing with incandescence: methods for
achieving efficient solid state lighting using organic light-emitting
devices," takes place 3 April at Photonics Europe 2006.

    --  Silcon-on-insulator microphotonic and nanophotontic devices
        and circuits

    The thin crystalline silicon film which is separated from the
silicon substrate by a buried oxide layer constitutes a high quality
optical waveguide at telecommunication wavelengths where silicon is
transparent. Recent results concerning nanoscale periodic surface
structuring of congruent LN will be presented by Laurent Vivien, Univ.
Paris Sud CNRS, France, on 4 April at Photonics Europe 2006.

    --  Photonics Research: What's Hot in Europe?

    Perspectives for funding opportunities in the next Framework
Programme (2007-2013) will be discussed by Ronan Burgess, a Scientific
Officer at the European Commission in the area of Photonics in the IST
programme (Information Society Technologies) with Henri Rajbenbach,
European Commission, Directorate General Information Society and
Media, Belgium. This is key information for business and research
leaders across major market sectors such as telecommunication, life
science and health care, manufacturing, security, displays and
lighting. This presentation occurs on 5 April at Photonics Europe
2006.

    --  Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Electricity: Status and Future

    W. Hoffmann, European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA)
Vice President, chairman of SCHOTT Solar (Belgium) will review the
four main applications of solar, three of which are competitive today.
For example, the rapid growth of grid connected PV systems in relation
to the total market has grown to more than three-quarters of the total
systems today. The conditions will be reviewed under which such
systems will be competitive without support programmes (feed-in
tariff, subsidies, etc.) Mr. Hoffman will also present the
EPIA-Roadmap, which anticipates productivity increase and ongoing
improvements for existing technologies as well as development of new
photovoltaic concepts. This presentation occurs on 6 April at
Photonics Europe 2006.

    --  A comprehensive review of photonics innovation from industry
        and research institutes

    Photonics Europe offers a comprehensive programme of over 1000
presentations by technology leaders from research institutions and
corporations including Intel, ZYGO, Thales Research and Technology,
Bookham, Finisar, STEAG microParts GmbH, Fujitsu Labs. of America, BAE
Systems, Nuonics, LightTrans, Dantec Dynmaics GmbH, Nokia Research,
Jenoptik, Osram Opto Semiconductors and others. Topics range from
optical interconnects to industrial process analysis to medical
sensors to tunable fiber lasers to spaceborne lasers for Earth
observation and measurement.
    Additional presentations and demonstrations will occur in the
Photonics Europe exhibition area, where approximately 150
organizations will showcase optics, photonics and imaging products.
    Photonics Europe 2006 will be held at The Palais de la Musique et
des Congres, in Strasbourg, France. Conferences, courses and workshops
take place 3-7 April, 2006. The Photonics Europe Exhibition runs 4-6
April, 2006. Approximately 2,200 people are expected to attend from
across Europe and around the world.
    More information about Photonics Europe, an SPIE Europe event, is
available at www.spie.org/events/europe

    About SPIE Europe

    SPIE Europe is a European subsidiary of SPIE -- The International
Society for Optical Engineering, a not-for-profit professional society
that has become the largest international force for the exchange,
collection and dissemination of knowledge in optics, photonics and
imaging. Founded in 1955, SPIE organizes technical conferences around
the world and publishes journals, books and proceedings, with
technical papers available for download via the SPIE Digital Library.
See spie.org for more details. SPIE Europe is headquartered in
Cardiff, UK.

    --30--APG/se*

    CONTACT: SPIE Europe
             Karin Burger, +44-7974-214542 
             karin@spieeurope.org
             or
             SPIE
             Stacey Crockett, 360-685-5491 
             staceyc@spie.org