I love to visit Germany, especially in the spring. For the past 10 or so years, I have visited every spring/early summer for either the Fraunhofer AKL conference, which is held on even years along with another famous conference – LASYS, or the big Munich laser conference held on odd years like this year! That being said, I will definitely be in Munich, but this year I also have an opportunity to attend the 5th UKP Workshop in Aachen, Germany held in a couple of weeks on April 10-11. In case your German is not up to speed, ‘K’ stands for ‘kurz’, which in German means 'short’.
The venue will be held at the Tivoli Aachen. The conference exhibition is sponsored by most of the big names in the UKP laser arena. The two-day conference features talks by Dr. Eric Mottay (Amplitude), who will be giving the keynote; Dr. Malte Kumkar/Trumpf, Dr. Benedikt Nohn/Volkswagen, and Dr. Keming Du/EdgeWave. The Day One agenda includes the Opening Remarks, Keynote, Ultrafast Basics, Applications I, and a panel discussion followed by dinner in one of the many great German pubs in Aachen. Day Two will focus on Laser Sources and Optics and Applications II. While the vendor space is and has been sold out for a long time, attendance is still possible. More information can be obtained here.
I will be presenting a full report following the conference. I am still working on updating my USP laser manufacturer guide and I have decided to include systems integrators as well. I will be working on this through my time in Germany and also including the Munich show. My main conclusions will be presented in an upcoming Industrial Laser Solutions venue and also in an upcoming webcast. The exact date will be set soon, but it will probably be sometime in late July or August.
I have a few other interesting things coming up in the next few weeks and months, and I can’t wait to share some of these adventures!
I am always interested in hearing your thoughts concerning laser micromachining, the laser industry, comments on entrepreneurial endeavors, etc. AND … we are always looking for fresh, publishable material. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Ron Schaeffer
Ron Schaeffer, Ph.D., is a blogger and contributing editor, and a member of the Laser Focus World Editorial Advisory Board. He is an industry expert in the field of laser micromachining and was formerly Chief Executive Officer of PhotoMachining, Inc. He has been involved in laser manufacturing and materials processing for over 25 years, working in and starting small companies. He is an advisor and past member of the Board of Directors of the Laser Institute of America. He has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Lehigh University and did graduate work at the University of Paris. His book, Fundamentals of Laser Micromachining, is available from CRC Press.