ICOLS-07 Circular 1
9 November 2006

Foreword

The 18^th International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (ICOLS-07) will open with an evening reception on Sunday the 24^th of June and run through Friday noon the 29^th of June 2007, in Telluride, Colorado, USA. The Conference serves as an international forum for researchers to discuss the latest ideas, developments and applications of laser spectroscopy. Topics for discussion reflect the broad and diverse nature of our field and include:

*Atomic and molecular laser spectroscopy
*Precision spectroscopy and metrology
*Laser cooling and trapping
*Atom optics and interferometry
*Cold collisions
*BEC’s and degenerate Fermi gases
*Quantum optics
*Quantum information processing and simulation
*Nonlinear optics
*Laser sources
*Novel applications of laser spectroscopy

Meeting Format

Following tradition and by design, participation in ICOLS-07 will be limited to approximately 300 attendees by invitation only. The program will consist of ~35 invited oral presentations (daily single session format) and two evening poster sessions.  Wednesday afternoon will be held free for informal discussions and recreational activities.  Written contributions from the invited speakers will be compiled and published in the Conference Proceedings, which will be distributed to all attendees. If electronic copies of the posters are provided to the organizers by the conclusion of the conference, they will be collected on a DVD and also distributed to all attendees. The Organizing Committee solicits contributions for the poster sessions, which should be in the form of a concise summary of 300 words or less for consideration. Prospective contributors must submit their summaries by 10^th May to hollberg@boulder.nist.gov or by regular mail to Leo Hollberg, NIST Div 847, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305 USA.

Prospective attendees and/or contributors can register their interest in ICOLS-07 and be included in future correspondence by emailing hollberg@boulder.nist.gov. Please also visit our web site, http://www.laserspectroscopy.org, which will be kept current.

Venue

 Telluride Conference Center (http://www.tellurideconference.com/ ) is located in Mountain Village (http://www.mountain-village.co.us/), which is connected to the historic town of Telluride (http://www.town.telluride.co.us/home/index.asp) by a free and spectacular twelve-minute gondola ride.   Mountain Village is also accessible by car or by shuttle bus. Mountain Village and the town of Telluride are located in the southwest corner of Colorado in the spectacular San Juan Range of the Rocky Mountains. Telluride lies approximately 100 highway miles northeast from the Four Corners, which is the intersection of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The town is situated at the end of a three-mile spur off State Highway 145 in a dramatic box canyon. Historic Telluride adjoins Mountain Village and the Telluride ski area on its southern border and is surrounded by the 3600-4000 m peaks of the San Juan Mountains in the Uncompahgre National Forest.

Accommodations

Rooms at a reduced rate for the attendees of ICOLS-07 have been blocked off in the Telluride Mountain Lodge (http://www.mountainlodgetelluride.com/index.asp, 866 368-6867) and the Peaks Resort, (http://www.thepeaksresort.com, 866 282-4557), two beautiful and well-furnished resort hotels within short walking distance of the Convention Center. All three facilities are located midway up Telluride Mountain immediately south of Telluride and surrounded by panoramic views of the majestic San Juan Mountains. Lodging arrangements are the responsibility of the attendees and can be completed either on-line or by phone with these two lodges). [Additional information will be posted as relevant dates approach.]

Other Services

The Conference Center and hotels will provide free wireless Internet connections, as well as other business services at nominal fees.  Beginning Sunday, June 24, we will have an ICOLS-07 headquarters, registration and information center set up at the Conference Center.

 Social and Recreational Activities

Wednesday afternoon will be open for a variety of organized or self-guided activities and excursions. Additional programs will be organized throughout the week for accompanying persons. Telluride and the surrounding area offer a host of  distractions, including a mind-boggling number of recreational activities, such as  swimming, golf, river rafting, mountain biking, hiking, tennis, health clubs, exercise facilities, spas, wildlife, to name a few.   Located in the mountainous southwest corner of Colorado, Telluride is within hours of many archaeologically and historically interesting sites including Mesa Verde, Native American sites, mining towns, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. (A bit further west loom the diverse canyons of Utah).

Climate

Although Telluride is a mountain village at an altitude of about 2 650 m (8 700 ft), one can  expect lots of sunshine with warm days (20-28 ^oC) and cool evenings (12-18 ^oC), Brief afternoon rain showers and/or thunderstorms are common.  Even though summer days in Telluride are generally warm, mountain weather can change rapidly and storms and cold temperatures are possible.

Timeline

Transportation

The conference site  can be reached by shuttle bus or car from the Montrose Airport (approximately 1 hr.), which has regular commercial flights from several cities in the U.S.  The smaller Telluride airport is approximately 20 minutes from the Conference Center but is limited to smaller planes and a small number of commercial flights.

Program Committee

Conference Chairs

Local Organizers