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ECOC (the European Conference
on Optical Communication) is the major European Conference on Optical
Communication. Always known and acknowledged for its excellent technical
and scientific quality, it is further enriched and complemented by a
large and now growing exhibition.
More than 800 papers were submitted this year, a number that compares
well with previous years. Out of these, around 50% were accepted for
oral or poster presentation by a Technical Programme Committee, formed
by 60 members, with representation from Europe, Americas, Far East and
Australia
The sustained high number of submitted papers, from 44 countries world-wide,
as well as the growth of the exhibition indicates that the field is
recovering and we anticipate that it will develop at the normal high
pace one would expect for a key IT technology.
A further opportunity to submit papers will be provided: Contributions
containing last-minute outstanding technical achievements can be submitted
as post-deadline papers, the deadline final date being August 16, 2004.
The technical programme offers a large number of presentations and posters
and a large variety of choices. More specifically, the programme comprises:
- A Plenary Session featuring leading experts in our field: Dr Herwig
Kogelnik, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, USA; Dr Yoichi Maeda,
Senior Manager, NTT, Japan; Prof. William Barnes, University of Exeter,
United Kingdom; Vice President Lars-Gunnar Johansson, Networks &
Technology, TeliaSonera, Sweden/Finland. The plenaries cover past
and future of fibre optics, give a perspective on broadband technology
and services and also present developments in important emerging technologies.
- Workshops: "Optical Networking for Grid Services" and
"Photonic Startups" on Sunday Sept 5th
- Short courses: 12 short courses have been arranged, covering a
wide range of subjects in WDM optical networking, optical routing,
metro and access networks and Ethernet, specialty fiber transmission
issues, integrated optics, photonic crystals and others.
- Six symposia running in parallel with the technical sessions will
give a comprehensive coverage of present and future in photonics for
communications and deal with:
Fibre Access and Broadband for All, Systems and Technologies for 100
Gb/s and Beyond, Photonic Crystals, Photonics in Wireless Systems,
Reconfigurable Optical Networks and New Opportunities in European
Photonics.
- Tutorials: Seven tutorials will provide basic understanding and
coverage of important areas
The technical programme further features a number of invited papers
spanning a wide range of hot topics and more than 250 oral papers are
will be arranged in 5 parallel sessions, while an additional 160 poster
papers will be presented in dedicated sessions
As with previous ECOC's , a large exhibition will be run alongside ECOC
2004, covering a broad range of products and services in the sector
of optical communication and related fields. A large number of companies
will display and demonstrate their most advanced products, including
systems and applications, components and materials, software, fabrication
and testing equipment.
ECOC 2004 will also comprise a "Swedish pavilion". This pavilion,
featuring different fibre optics test beds as well as technology from
Swedish fibre optics companies, will demonstrate and elucidate fibre
optics with a perspective ranging from technology to services.
ECOC 2004, in line with its traditions, addresses everybody in optical
communication, including researchers and engineers, network operators
and service providers, vendors and users of optical products and services,
as well as market analysts and investors.
The venue, Stockholm, is an ancient city with a modern heart and a long
and interesting history. It is built on fourteen islands so, at first
glance, it seems to be almost floating. The city's official written
history dates back to the 13th century, but surrounding the city there
are runestones and other traces of the earlier Vikings too.
The original old town of Stockholm, Gamla Stan, with its winding narrow
streets and ochre-painted building facades has a personality all of
its own. The city has many other attractions for visitors. You can explore
the city by water, traveling through locks and narrow canals, under
bridges and past tree-lined beaches; explore Stockholm's continental
style inner-city, enjoy the wide range of theatres, cinemas and nightlife,
or a mere stone's-throw away, seek out Djurgården's splendid parklands.
Djurgården is also home to a range of excellent museums like Skansen,
the world's oldest open-air museum. With more time to spare, the Stockholm
archipelago, one of the largest in the world with its collection of
more than 24,000 islands, makes a great day out. The ECOC dinner and
festivities will be held in the City Hall, a city landmark and the location
of the annual Nobel Prize banquet
Information about ECOC 2004, the Conference Technical Programme, the
exhibition, accommodation and venue can be found at http://www.ecoc.se/
See you in Stockholm!
Per Andersson
Lars Thylen
General Co-Chairs of ECOC 2004
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