240 delegates from 25 countries attend ICOLS in Singapore

These are some scenes from the 22nd International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy held in Singapore 28 June - 3 July 2015. Find more photos on CQT's Facebook page.

The biennial International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy came to Singapore in June, bringing with it some of the world's leading scientists in atomic, molecular and optical physics. The conference had a week-long programme of scientific talks, poster presentations and social events. In total, some 240 scientists, students and exhibitors from 25 countries took part.

For Kai Dieckmann, CQT Principal Investigator and chair of the organising committee, all the work that went into planning the meeting was worth it. "We ended up with a very strong scientific programme. We had great talks on topics ranging from a new quantum authentication protocol to the extreme precision of atomic clocks and research on optical activation of neurons. The ambience of the venue was also very nice," he says.

The conference was held 28 June – 3 July at the Shangri-La Rasa hotel on Sentosa, a small island off Singapore. The hotel has terraces overlooking the ocean and is set in tropical gardens stalked by peacocks.

The full programme and abstract book for the conference are available on the conference website.

In addition to the main scientific programme, there was a public talk held in conjunction with ICOLS at the Singapore Science Centre. Delivered by Alain Aspect from the Institut d'Optique Palaiseau, France, the talk drew an audience of about 200. After the conclusion of the conference at Friday lunchtime, CQT held an afternoon open house for interested delegates to visit the Centre's labs.

The organising committee at CQT thanks the ICOLS programme committee and steering committee for their contributions to planning the 22nd ICOLS. The committee also thanks the meeting's sponsors and exhibitors. The next ICOLS in 2017 will be held in France.