April 5-7, 2004
Loews Ventana Canyon Resort
Tucson, Arizona

The Photon Forum is a 3-day event at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, April 5-7, 2004. The event consists of two days of bio-optics and defense/security-related technology presentations. The second day will end with a venture capitalist roundtable, dinner, and a keynote address by Air Force Major General Donald Lamberson. A technology showcase will conclude the event. Photon Forum attendees will include venture capitalists, optics industry leaders, CEOs, CTOs, and senior-level managers, researchers, and product engineers.

Sponsored by:

Venue / Accommodations

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort
7000 North Resort Drive
Tucson, Arizona 85750
Special conference rate: $159 single/double per night
Phone reservations: 800-234-5117
www.loewshotels.com/hotels/tucson

About the Photon Forum

The Photon Forum will bring together a unique audience of industry leaders, investors, CTOs, technologists, analysts, and national media personnel in Optics Valley-Tucson, Arizona. These professionals will represent established companies, the financial community, and the newest wave of high-energy start-up companies, as well as others looking for or offering emerging commercial opportunities in the field of optics and photonics. Drawing on the resources of the area and the worldwide contact base of its co-hosts, Laser Focus World and OpticsReport, the Photon Forum will provide clear and succinct technology overviews directly coupled with discussions of the "real world" applications and commercial opportunities, as well as offering investors' perspectives of these opportunities.

This inaugural event will disclose emerging technologies to potential investors and end users, while at the same time providing scientists and engineers a chance to network with the investment community. Bringing together these groups will facilitate the process by which emerging technologies become commercial successes, while fostering inter-disciplinary knowledge leading to new optics and photonics applications.

What is the focus of this event?

The Photon Forum will cover two broad areas: 1) "bio-optics," which encompasses optics applications in biotechnology, medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications, and other areas of the life sciences; and 2) "defense and security," which includes such photonic applications as hyperspectral imaging, chemical and biological sensing, and biometrics. These two broad technology areas make extensive use of optics and optoelectronics technologies and are currently "hot" in terms of investor interest and technology developments.

What makes this event unique?

The Photon Forum is differentiated from other events by its location in Optics Valley and by the resources available to it, which include the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences Center, nearly 200 local optics companies, the Arizona Optics Industry Association, and over 40 years experience tracking optics and photonics technologies by its co-hosts, Laser Focus World and OpticsReport.

Who should attend?

- Active venture capital executives, angels, and technology analysts.
- Leaders in the optics and photonics industry, such as CEOs, CTOs, and senior-level managers, researchers, and product engineers.

Benefits of Attending

- Learn about numerous investment opportunities.
- Network and discuss investment opportunities with peers colleagues and speakers.
- Participate in a unique session for those who wish to represent their current investments and past successes.
- See start-ups, researchers, and technology transfer initiatives showcase their technologies and business plans.
- Receive feedback directly from prospective investors.

Produced by:

Program agenda

Monday, April 5, 2004
4:30 - 6:00 pm - Networking Reception

Tuesday, April 6, 2004
7:00 am - Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:00 am - An Overview of Opportunities in Optics
Donald Fraser, Director, Boston University Photonics Center

9:00 am - Drug Discovery
Technologies utilizing optics to improve the process of high-throughput screening, target validation, and general gene activity protocols used in drug discovery efforts.
Ralph R. Martel, Ph.D., V.P. Multiplexed Technologies, High Throughput Genomics, Inc.

9:40 am - Clinical Diagnostics
Technologies utilizing optical imaging systems, DNA, RNA, and other biomolecules to perform fast, cost-effective, and accurate diagnostic tests in clinical settings.
Dalibor Hodko, Ph.D., Director, Advanced Technology, Nanogen, Inc.

10:40 am - Diagnostics II
Spectroscopy techniques and lasers for use in bioscience, analytical chemistry, reprographics, industrial process control and environmental sensing applications.
Barbara A. Paldus, Ph.D., Founder, CTO/EVP, Picarro, Inc.

11:20 am - Vision Technology
Advances in ophthalmology including wavefront sensing applied to corrective eye surgery, accommodating intraocular lens implants, and implanted retinal prosthetics to treat diseases known to cause vision loss.
Jim Schwiegerling, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology & Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

12:00 pm - Networking Luncheon
Address by Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup

1:00 pm - Novel Glucose Monitoring Technologies
Optical approaches to measuring diabetic blood glucose levels, including non-invasive, semi-invasive, and new approaches requiring blood draw with increased accuracy.
James R. Braig, Chief Technical Officer, OptiScan Biomedical Corporation

1:40 pm - Surgical Displays
Wearable medical displays designed to fuse important medical information with surgical procedures, or to create virtual operating environments for remote medical treatment.
Jannick Rolland, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Optics and Computer Science, School of Optics/CREOL

2:20 pm - Telemedicine
Medical equipment, procedures, information handling, data transfer, and displays related to offsite or collaborative diagnostic efforts.
Ronald S. Weinstein, M.D., Professor and Head of Pathology, University of Arizona; Director, Arizona Telemedicine Program

3:20 pm - New Medical Imaging Methods
Imaging methods capable of identifying disease-related abnormalities before anatomical or physiological changes become apparent.
Jennifer K. Barton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

4:00 pm - Imaging Spectroscopy
Hyperspectral imaging technology in defense applications and other new applications with commercial value.
Mitchell C. Ruda, Ph.D., President, Ruda & Associates, Inc.

4:40 pm - VC Roundtable
A moderated Q&A between 4-5 venture capitalists and audience.
Jock Holliman, General Partner, Valley Ventures
Daniel C. Wood, CFA, General Partner, IngleWood Ventures
Mike Farmwald, General Partner, Skymoon Ventures
Moderated by: Stephen G. Anderson, Associate Publisher/Editor in Chief, Laser Focus World

6:00 - 9:00 pm - Dinner with Keynote Address, "Defense at the Speed of Light"
This keynote address will cover the role of lasers, at various energies and wavelengths, in the military weapons transformation currently underway. Current applications and opportunities for further research, development, and acquisition will also be discussed.
Major General (Ret) Donald L. Lamberson, PhD

Biography: General Lamberson retired from active duty in the USAF in 1989 as Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. While on active duty he held many positions in USAF Laboratories, Product Divisions, and Air Staff. He has been involved with high energy laser research since 1964. He was Program Manager of the Airborne Laser Laboratory which destroyed several missiles in flight in 1983. He was responsible for Acquisition Management at the Armament Division, Eglin AFB, FL at the beginning of the precision-munition revolution in the early 1980's (including the start of the AMRAAM missile, produced by Raytheon). While serving in the Pentagon he was responsible for the initial management of the "Star Wars" program initiated by President Reagan.

Following retirement he has been active as a technical advisor and consultant. He served over 10 years on the USAF Scientific Advisory Board as well as several Independent Review Teams of USAF Directed Energy programs, including the current Airborne Laser. He is currently on the Raytheon DEW Advisory Group. He also chairs the Distinguished Review Board of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) Center for Directed Energy and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Directed Energy Professional Society. General Lamberson received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and his Masters and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from AFIT.

Wednesday, April 7, 2004
7:00 am - Continental Breakfast

8:00 am - Terahertz Imaging and Spectroscopy
Imaging and chemical analysis of a variety of objects, including human tissue, for potential medical applications, security screening, and non-destructive testing applications.
Don D. Arnone, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, TeraView Ltd

8:40 am - Biometrics
Biometrics technology in food-safety and animal disease control applications.
Bruce Golden, Ph.D., CEO, OptiBrand

9:40 am - Chemical and Biological Agent Sensing
Optical technologies with the goal of sensing trace amounts of chemical or biological agents in real time, or detecting unreleased agents through optical analysis of containers.
Dennis Killinger, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics, University of South Florida

10:20 am - Optoelectronics in Defense Applications
Directed energy weapons and countermeasures, such as ordnance neutralization, missile defense systems, and non-lethal crowd control technologies.
Michael W. Booen, Vice President Directed Energy Weapons, Raytheon Company

9:20 - 9:40 am, 11:00 - close - Exhibition-style Start-up and IP Showcase (opens at 9:30 am)
An exhibition-style showcase of specific start-up companies and intellectual property transfer opportunities in all of the technology sectors and applications covered by the conference.
Applied Image Group
Breault Research Organization
Davidson Optronics
Edmund Industrial Optics
Engineering Synthesis Design
High Throughput Genomics
Lasertel, Inc.
ODALAB School of Optics, University of Florida
OptiBrand, Ltd.
PennWell Publishing
Picarro Inc.
Prolign Technologies
Raytheon
UA Biomedical Engineering
University of Arizona Science and Technology Park

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