ANAHEIM, Calif. - OFC 2002 has a tough act to follow: OFC 2001. Last year's conference and exhibit attracted nearly 40,000, exceeding OFC 2000 attendees by more than 130 percent, a 25-year high. If the number of exhibiting companies -- 1000 plus -- is any indication, OFC 2002 attendance should meet or exceed last year's.
   As in the past, OFC offers a full plate of conferences and special events of importance to the fiber communications industry. Key among these events is the OFC plenary session and awards ceremony on March 19. This year's plenary speakers will include Geoffrey Moore, chairman and founder, The Chasm Group; Tingye Li, independent consultant in lightwave communications; and Vinton G. Cerf, senior vice president for Internet Architecture and Technology, WorldCom.
   Other highlights of the plenary session are the John Tyndall Award and OSA, IEEE/LEOS and IEEE/ComSoc fellowship awards. The Tyndall Award will be presented to Neal S. Bergano "for outstanding technical contributions to and technical leadership in the advancement of global undersea fiber optic communication systems." Bergano is managing director of system research at TyCom Laboratories.
   Also scheduled are tutorial sessions, a commercial technology program, short courses and technical sessions.
   The conference will be held March 16 to 27 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with the technical exhibit from March 19 to 22.