Symposium Welcome: On the Occasion of the Forty-fourth Boulder Damage Symposium

摘要

Welcome to the NIST in Boulder and the 44th Annual Laser Damage Symposium "Laser Induced Damage in Optical Materials". More than four decades have passed by since the first conference of this kind which was started by Dr. Art Guenther and Dr. Alex Glass inspired by the idea to join forces in the field of high power materials for laser applications. Even after this long time period, laser induced damage in optical materials is continuing to be one of the key issues in laser technology and is often encountered as the limiting factor in many applications as well as the development of high power lasers. The Laser Damage Conference is a clear indicator for this evolution having contributed many tremendous efforts to the fundamental understanding of laser damage and the development of optical components with improved power handling capability.