LASER World of PHOTONICS China will celebrate its 15th year when it opens at Shanghai New International Expo Centre on March 18. The trade fair and conference, which runs until March 20, posted record numbers in 2019, with 65,705 visitors and 1177 exhibitors. Overall, the attendance marked a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The exhibit features 10 areas of focus: lasers and optoelectronics; optics; manufacturing technology for optics; sensors, test and measurement, and optical measurement systems; imaging; lasers and laser systems for production engineering; optical information and communication; biophotonics and medical engineering; illumination and energy; and security. Visitors browse the exhibition hall at LASER World of PHOTONICS China. Courtesy of Messe München. “The exhibition area and the conferences at LASER World of PHOTONICS China do have a strong focus on ‘smart manufacturing,’ which is a trending topic in China at the moment,” said Claudia Sixl, exhibition group director of the LASER World of PHOTONICS cluster at Messe München. The accompanying PHOTONICS CONGRESS CHINA will feature the 15th International Laser Processing and Systems Conference (LPC 2020), the Chinese Laser Market Summit 2020, the International Optical Industry Development Forum, and the Workshop on Safety of Industrial Lasers and Systems Use. LPC 2020, taking place March 18-19, will be chaired by professor Zhangqingmao of the Chinese Optical Society’s Laser Processing Committee and professor Reinhart Poprawe of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology. The conference will cover a number of topics, including new laser beam sources, systems, and applications; ultrafast laser technologies and applications; simulation and modeling of laser processes; and micro and nano laser technologies and processes. The International Optical Industry Development Forum will take place March 18-19 and will be chaired by professor Huilin Jiang of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University and Robert Lieberman, president of Lumoptix LLC. The conference will cover optical biotechnology imaging, advanced materials and new energy resources, and quantum optics. Other accompanying conferences include the China Machine Vision Technology & Application Conference and the Infrared Detection Advanced Technology Frontier Forum, both of which will be presented in Chinese, and the LIDAR Technology and Application Frontier Forum, as well as the AI Technology Applications in Optical Metrology Forum. The event is organized by Messe München and co-organized by the Chinese Optical Society’s Laser Processing Committee (COS-LPC), and the China Machine Vision Industry Union. Approximately 1200 exhibitors and more than 65,000 professional visitors are expected.