Laser World of Photonics, the top international venue for lasers and photonics, will expand upon the 'Light at Work' theme it adopted at the 2007 trade fair by highlighting manufacturing. For the first time, exhibitors will present their manufacturing applications in two exhibition halls during the fair, which will take place June 15-18 at the Munich Trade Fair Centre. "In spite of the difficult global economic environment, Laser World of Photonics is still growing. The exhibition area at the world’s leading trade fair for lasers and photonics, which will be held for the 19th time in Munich from 15 to 18 June 2009, is being extended by 10,000 square meters in a fourth exhibition hall, i.e. to a total of 42,000 square meters. In addition to this substantial growth, the main characteristic of Laser World of Photonics 2009 will be its greater orientation towards applications," said event organizer Messe München International GmbH. In addition to the presenting the world's leading trade fair, Laser World of Photonics will also feature the World of Photonics Congress, the leading congress for optical technologies, from June 14-19 at the nearby International Congress Centre Munich. The congress will be opened this year by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. In 2007 there were more than 2300 presentations during the World of Photonics Congress and it was attended by more than 3100 international delegates. Today, nearly 20 percent of the electricity consumed worldwide is needed for illumination in all areas of human activity, and this generates enormous amounts of CO2. For this reason, Laser World of Photonics, as well as the World Photonics Congress, is focusing on future-oriented concepts for illuminating streets and buildings and for providing light in electronic displays and in tomorrow’s cars. As one of the focus topics, lighting systems are being showcased at Laser World of Photonics, with example applications at the booths of many exhibitors. The World of Photonics Congress will also be shedding light on this subject, building bridges between science and industry, theory and practice.At the Forum in Trade Show Hall B2, the congress is presenting the topic of “Sustainable Lighting Concepts” in practically oriented presentations. There, on June 17beginning at 10 a.m., Dr. Andreas Bräuer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) and Dr. Berit Wessler from Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH will be presenting a series of lectures. In these presentations, speakers from institutes and industry will be covering modern illumination concepts and efficient manufacturing processes for the light sources of the future. The focus topic “Lasers in Photovoltaics Manufacturing” at Laser World of Photonics 2009 examines the future of supplying electricity through solar power. Conferences that will be held in conjunction with the World of Photonics Congress 2009 include: CLEO/Europe-IQEC, organized by the European Physical Society (EPS), the Optical Society of America (OSA) and IEEE/LEOS; Frontiers in Electronic Imaging and Manufacturing of Optical Components, organized by the European Optical Society (EOS); LIM Lasers in Manufacturing“, organized by the Scientific Laser Society (WLT); ECBO-European Conference on Biomedical Optics, organized by the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE Europe) and the Optical Society of America (OSA); Optical Metrology, organized by SPIE Europe; Medical Laser Applications, organized by the German Association for Laser Medicine (DGLM e.V.); Application Panels – practical applications of lasers and photonics, organized by Messe München.As part of the World of Photonics Congress, Application Panels will be held for the first time free of charge during the forums in the exhibition halls. Held under the motto of "Lasers and Photonics in Actual Practice," these Application Panels will bridge the gap between theory and practice and will be divided into three areas: Biophotonics and life sciences with: Laser-based photon and particle beams for medical applications Lasers for biophotonics Visions for future diagnosticsInnovative lasers and light generation in science and industry with: Short-pulse lasers in commercial applications Novel developments in solid-state laser technology Sustainable illumination concepts Optical components and materials for high-power-lasersLasers and laser systems for production with: Lasers for photovoltaics Photovoltaics technologies utilizing lasers Rapid manufacturing Use of high-brilliance beam sourcesIn addition to the Application Panels during the Congress, the photonics forums will feature presentations by exhibitors and podium discussions. A large number of events entitled “Light Insights” will be held during the trade fair in order to arouse children’s interest in optical technologies, present the technology from the aspect of financing and promote the projects within the framework of the European technology platform Photonics21. “Lukas Forscherland” will invite primary schoolchildren on every day of the trade fair. Together with experts, they will learn about optical technologies by carrying out their own experiments and will therefore be introduced to these exciting technologies. “Light Insights” will also feature an analysts’ conference with the participation of the German Stock Exchange. On June 16, CEOs of leading international technology companies will participate in a panel discussion. They will explain their corporate strategies and take a look at the future of the industry. “Photons in Production“ will be the special show for material processing and innovative production technologies during the trade fair. This special show will be primarily aimed at small and medium-sized companies this year. It will present the latest industry standards by means of application examples, live demonstrations and technical talks. “Photons in Production“ is being jointly organized with the Institute for Machine Tools and Management Sciences (iwb) at Munich Technical University and the Bavarian Laser Center (blz) in Erlangen. For more information, visit: http://world-of-photonics.net/