Tunable Lasers and Applications: Proceedings of the Loen Conference, Norway, 1976

The Tunable Lasers and Applications Conference was held in Loen, Norway, on June 6-11, 1976. This conference dealt with the technology of tunable lasers from the vacuum ultraviolet to the far infrared and their application in the areas of photochemistry, chemical kinetics, isotope separation, at­ mospheric photochemistry and environmental studies, photobiology, and spec­ troscopy. The need for such a conference grew out of the rapidly expanding use of tunable lasers in a broad range of disciplines. The conference was attended by 130 scientists representing Japan, Italy, West Germany, Canada, Israel, France, England, Norway, Sweden, Brazil, Den­ mark, Finland, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The location of the conference in Loen, Nordfjord, was chosen because of the magnificent beauty of its aqua-blue fjords surrounded by glacier-capped mountains and lush green hillsides. The Alexandra Hotel was a perfect host for such a conference with first class services, superb smorgesbord, and ex­ cellent audio-visual facilities. The atmosphere was free of distractions and provided for a relaxed interchange of ideas. An afternoon hike was arranged to the Briksdal glacier while the highlight of the outdoor activities was a bus-ship excursion to the magestically splendid Geiranger fjord. A sumptuous banquet was followed by an interesting'and entertaining illustrated talk on high-speed and underwater photography by Professor Harold Edgerton from MIT. Financial support from our sponsors is gratefully acknowledged in help­ ing to make this conference a complete success.