ICO, the place where Optics meets
Major ICO Events
(Topical Meetings, Regional Meetings, Schools)
INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES
Application deadlines are April 15 and October 15 of each year. The applications must be submitted to the ICO Associate Secretary by a deadline that is at least 12 months prior to the event and before the first announcement.
- Application for ICO General Meetings (Word Doc)
A - General Conditions
1 - "Event" in this document refers to a scientific meeting, college, or school. As opposed to other events with ICO participation, ICO Congresses and other major ICO events are generated from the very beginning by ICO or in close relation with ICO. A companion document to this one gives the information and guidelines for ICO Cosponsorship and Endorsement of Conferences and Schools, where ICO is not the primary organizer.
2 - The following rules apply in all cases to ICO General Meetings and other major ICO events
3 - ICO encourages meetings in all new areas of optics and meetings designed to fill specific needs, including regional development of optics. At the same time, ICO would like to avoid the unnecessary proliferation of conferences; section 6 of the Questionnaire should therefore be answered carefully, explaining why this particular conference should be held. 4 - Industrial participation in the Program Committee and in the Organizing Committee is usually required. 5 - There may be ICO financial participation in ICO events, in the form of a grant, a loan, or a participation in the risks. ICO participation is an ICO Bureau decision. There is usually no ICO financial participation in ICO Endorsed events. Notes:
B - Special conditions for ICO Congresses6 - ICO Congresses are held every three years; they include the General Business Meeting as requested by the statutes and a Scientific Meeting that should cover most of optics. 7 - For Congresses, calls for bids are issued by the ICO Associate Secretary with a deadline typically 4 years before the Meeting. The ICO Bureau in that year examines the bids and issues a proposition that is then submitted to the ICO Congress the following year. The ICO Congress makes the final decision. Advance notice is always appreciated. Bids should be sent to the ICO Associate Secretary in charge of meetings and schools. 8 - The vast majority of the recent Congresses were held in August or early in September. 9 - The budget should provide for some financial help for invited speakers, the usual minimum being free registration. Special support is requested for invited speakers from countries where the development of optics is comparatively difficult. In recent ICO Congresses, the number of invited speakers has ranged between 30 and 40. Recent winners of the ICO Prize, the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Optics and the Galileo Galilei Award are usually invited speakers at the Immediate next ICO Congress. 10 - The 2020 Congress, ICO-25, will be held in Dresden, Germany in September 2020. Previous ICO Congresses were held in the following countries:
C - Other major ICO events11 - ICO usually organizes Schools, Topical Meetings, and Regional Meetings between the Congresses. 12 - ICO Meetings should correspond to a clear need in a given sub-field of optics or in a given geographical area. 13 - It is possible to have more than one ICO major meeting in a given year or to have one in the same year as a Congress. 14 - Bids for all major ICO events other than the ICO Congress that are to be held prior to December of a given calendar year should be sent to the ICO Secretariat by April of that year. 15 - Opportunities to organize schools are welcome. ICO Schools should normally be specialized to some area of optics and should last between one and three weeks. Schools in geographical areas with special needs for the development of optics are particularly welcome |