The U.S. Advisory Committee for the International Commission for Optics (USAC/ICO) represents the interests of the U.S. optics community in ICO, which coordinates the worldwide diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge in the field. ICO is an affiliated commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), a member union of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
USAC/ICO		Of Interest
USAC/ICO serves to: Strengthen U.S. contributions to the international optical communities. Actively involve U.S. scientific communities in ICO activities, such as the ICO Triennial Congress. View the most recent Triennial Report here. Foster collaborations and enhance outreach efforts within the optical science and technology communities on a global scale. Learn more about USAC/ICO’s mission.		Revisiting Harnessing Light Over the last year, a major priority for the U.S. Advisory Committee for Optics has been to raise awareness of the need to update the 1998 NRC report Harnessing Light. That report only captured the importance of optics and photonics but also described the major challenges facing the field. The USAC is working closely with The National Academies’ National Materials Advisory Board (NMAB) on this project. Read more about the importance of this project here. 2009 ICTP Winter College ICTP organizes an annual Winter College on Optics in Trieste, Italy. The 2009 Winter College will be held February 2-13, 2009 and will focus on optics in environmental science. For more information, visit: http://www.ico-optics.org/pdfs/Poster_WinterCollege2009.pdf. Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP) Workshops ALOP workshops, week-long teacher training events, provide active learning opportunities for high school and university physics teachers in Africa and the Americas. Read more about this USAC/ICO co-sponsored program on the Activities page. Education & Training Conferences Education and Training in Optics and Photonics (ETOP) conferences bring together leading optics and photonics educators to collaborate on teaching approaches in these fields. The 2009 ETOP Conference will be held July 5-7 in St. Asaph, North Wales, UK. For more information go to www.etop.org.uk.
Contact Us		Visa Issues
The National Academies Board on International Scientific Organizations Keck Center 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Phone: (202) 334-2807 Fax: (202) 334-2231 Email: ico-us@nas.edu Kathie Bailey-Mathae, Director Pam Gamble, Administrative Associate		Scientists and students traveling to the United States for professional activities can obtain information from the International Visitors Office, a program operated by BISO.
		Sponsors
		Support for the USAC/ICO is provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS-0650065.

Revised: 20 November 2008