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What's new with ILDA and the website
 

This page has news from 2011. For older news, click to get news from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.

In addition to the news items listed below, you may also want to check out the following webpages for news from ILDA Members:

     Laser shows and projects page
     New products and services page
     Press releases page
 

December 2011

LOBO has created two large-scale shows for corporate clients. For example, a presentation for proGroup utilized their entire plant. LOBO was in charge of the creative and technical plans for this event. Details this, and a project at the Wirtgen Technology Days, are on the page with Laser shows and projects.

November 2011

Lightline Lasertechnik of Osnabrück, Germany, received an award from Coherent for the 400th Taipan laser sold. The certificate was presented to Marco Stümpel at the ILDA Conference in Moscow, by Peter Vogt and Andreas Zuck of Coherent.

October 2011

Lasertainment Productions Inc. selected three 18 watt lasers to help Caterpillar open a new factory in North Carolina. One laser was even installed in the bucket of a skid loader, as shown at left. More information is on the Laser shows and projects page.

Manick Sorcar of Laser Light Magic is profiled in an article appearing in the Calcutta Telegraph. He is working on a multimedia and laser show to honor his father, famous Indian magician P.C. Sorcar on the centenary of his father's birth in 1913. The article shows a laser graphic image of P.C., done by Manick who is also overseeing a course on laser animation at Jadavpur University. More information is on the Laser shows and projects page.

LOBO used 60 watts of blue light to help BMW introduce its new i8 and i3 eco-cars at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. More information on the presentation is on the Laser shows and projects page. (Photo credit: BMW Group)

Elections for two ILDA Board of Directors seats will be held November 11 2011 at the ILDA Conference in Moscow. Any eligible 2011 ILDA Member may run for the board. We have a page with information about ILDA Board duties.
     All 2011 ILDA Members may vote, either in person or by proxy. We have a page with information about how to run for the Board and how to vote for Board members. A list of persons who are attending the Conference, and who can thus cast proxy ballots is here.

September 2011

ILDA will be represented at a major conference on laser pointer and aircraft safety. Executive Director Patrick Murphy will speak on "The Science of Lasers" at a conference sponsored by the Air Line Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association, October 27 in Washington D.C. Other speakers include Rep. Dan Lundgren, who introduced a bill to criminalize aiming lasers at aircraft, and the FAA Administrator. Murphy will be the only representative from the laser-using community.
 

August 2011

Olesya Kazantseva has sent us a photo of herself in front of one of her beamworks. The photo has been added to the March 2011 description and photo of Olesya with her laser characters.

Happy 25th Birthday to ILDA! The first meeting to form ILDA was held August 15, 1986. Today, August 15, 2011, we celebrate 25 years of service to laserists and the laser display industry. You may want to browse our historical documents including our first meeting minutes, a list of founding members, and an ILDA timeline.

ILDA Member Image Engineering announced their Light Vector RGB projectors. They feature green OPSL, and blue and red diode technology. They were pioneered by touring with Cee Lo Green. More information is on the New products and services page.

Voting for the 2011 ILDA Career Achievement Award is open from Monday 1 August through Monday 22 August. All ILDA Members are eligible to vote by e-mail for one of the five nominees: Steve Heminover, Olesya Kazantseva, Cory Simpson, Bernd Steinert or John Tilp. Details are on the Members-Only 2011 CAA vote page (username and password required).
 

July 2011

ILDA's fax number has been discontinued, because we have received so few non-spam faxes (only one legitimate fax every couple of months). If you need to send a document, please scan and send via e-mail. If you must fax, you can also call us by voice to set up a one-time fax reception on another voice/fax switched line.

The 2011 ILDA Conference dates have been moved to 10-13 November. This was done to give more Members a chance to attend this annual event. It is still in Moscow, a world-class city and prime tourist destination. Also, the hotel remains the same, the brand-new Radisson Blu Belorusskaya Hotel in Moscow.
     Early registration rates are reopened through 31 August. Normal registration rates are in effect during September. Late registration rates begin October 1 ... so definitely register as early as possible. Much more information is on the 2011 ILDA Conference overview page.
     (Note: The dates were 3-6 Nov. for one week but the hotel had a conflict so on July 27 the Conference was moved to the final date of 10-13 Nov.)
 

April 2011

Coherent celebrated the occasion of the shipment of the 1000th Taipan laser into Europe for entertainment uses, by awarding the best selling integrators with a special Taipan unit. LaserAnimation Sollinger GmbH sold almost 300 Taipan lasers and received the " 250+units " award. More details are on the Press Releases page.
 

Pangolin Laser Systems has announced a release date for their all-new "Beyond" laser show software for professionals: July 16, 2011. More details about Beyond and its hardware & software compatibility, are on the Press Releases page.

William R. Benner, Jr., President and CTO of ILDA Member Pangolin Laser Systems, recently joined a select group of leading experts on a broad array of subjects, from around the world to co-write the forthcoming book "Win!: Winning Strategies From Today’s Leading Experts." More information about Benner and the book is on the Press Releases page.

ILDA award-winning artist Manick Sorcar of LaserLight Magic has donated USD $112,000 to found the Manick Sorcar Laser Animation Laboratory at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. His work opened the Light India Invitational tradefair in Chennai, where 24 JU students plus teachers came to see the type of laser show they would soon be learning about. More information about Sorcar and the new laser lab is on the Press Releases page.
 

March 2011

Olesya Kazantseva of Laser Artist Co. in Moscow has sent a photo of herself with the laser characters from her 2009 full-length laser animated "movie", The Pirates. She talks about this project, and her love of laser animation, on the Member shows and projects page. (Plus, you can meet her at the ILDA Conference this September 15-18 in Moscow!)

ILDA's office will be closed until Monday, March 21 while we travel to the International Laser Safety Conference. Safety chair Greg Makhov and executive director Patrick Murphy will be demonstrating safe audience scanning techniques to the attendees. If you have urgent needs, you can email or call us but we may not be able to respond right away.

LOBO created a 30-minute show for the Sultanate of Oman, which was attended by over 2 million people during its 28-day run.
     LOBO used seven ultra-bright laser systems, 24 fog generators with wind machines, many sets of special outdoor laser mirrors, four video systems, three water screens, one of the largest mobile fountain systems, 20 fire effects, 90 high-powered searchlight-type light fixtures, as well as fireworks.
     More information, plus photos, are on the Member shows and projects page.

Come to Moscow! ILDA and Orion-Art Multimedia officially ask you to attend the 2011 ILDA Conference, to be held 15-18 September at the brand-new Radisson Blu Belorusskaya Hotel in Moscow. This is concurrent with the Music Moscow fair, 15-18 Sept. Much more information is on the 2011 ILDA Conference overview page.
     (UPDATE JULY 18 2011: The Conference dates have been moved to 3-6 November. Early registration rates are reopened through 31 August. Normal registration rates are in effect during September. Late registration rates begin October 1 ... so definitely register as early as possible. Because of the date change, we will not be concurrent with the Music Moscow fair. All other aspects of the ILDA Conference remain the same. For more information, see the 2011 ILDA Conference overview page.)

We are still accepting nominations for the ILDA Career Achievement Award. You may nominate anyone -- ILDA Member, non-member or even yourself. The new deadline to email the nomination is Thursday, 31 March 2011. Click here for more information about the CAA and how to nominate someone.

A list of ILDA Awards entries received to date is on the 2011 Awards entry page. If you have sent an entry, check this page to be sure we have your materials.
 

February 2011

ER Productions put the band Muse in "laser prison" for their world tour. The show included 10 8-watt systems, including one controlled by Muse front man Matt Bellamy. Details are on the Member shows and projects page.
 

ILDA's new Regulatory Committee has developed a position statement on the "Securing Aircraft Cockpits Against Lasers Act" now in the U.S. Congress.

The ILDA Board has approved a Regulatory Committee, chaired by Dan Goldsmith of X-Laser. Any ILDA Member is free to join the committee (please contact Dan directly at X-Laser). The committee will develop ILDA positions on regulatory and legislative issues, and will work to improve how laser shows are regulated.
     For now, the committee is focused on U.S. issues. If you are interested in similar work for other countries, please contact ILDA.

LaserTech Canada has introduced inflatable projection screens designed specifically for laser graphic and video projection. More information is on the New products and services page.

Members can enter the 2011 ILDA Awards competition. There are three categories: Artistic, Technical and Career Achievement. Information and entry forms are on the Entries and instructions page. The deadline to mail or send ILDA Award entries is 28 February 2011.

January 2011

Executive Director Patrick Murphy and Safety Chair Greg Makhov were extensively quoted in Photonics Spectra magazine's "Trends 2011" article (Jan. 2011, page 78 also available online for a limited time). Makhov discussed how diodes, and especially blue diodes originally harvested from Casio Green Slim data projectors, have had a "significant impact .... leading to much more creative displays." Murphy discussed audience scanning. The article detailed ILDA's proposed optional "Level 2" scanning with irradiance up to 10 times the nominal MPE, in return for additional safety requirements. The article also contained four large photos of laser displays, supplied by ILDA.

LaserNet of Miami was busy with a number of New Years laser shows, including the halftime of the nationally-televised Orange Bowl, pictured at right. Details are on the Laser shows and projects page.
 

The winner of the laser drawing is Laser Quantum of Montreal! In December 2010, Wicked Lasers donated an 800 mW blue-beam handheld laser to ILDA. The association then held a drawing for Members joining or renewing before 31 December 2010. Fifty-seven Members were eligible for the drawing, representing 107 tickets. (Members received the same number of tickets as their membership category has votes, so Corporate Members had 2, 3 or 4 tickets depending on their membership level.)
     The drawing was held at noon on Friday, January 7 2011. Two Board Members and executive director Patrick Murphy participated. The list of names was double-checked, 107 tickets were put into a hat, and the winner was randomly picked. Congratulations to Laser Quantum! They have been notified by email regarding their prize options: the laser or a $250 credit on 2012 Membership.
      Note that the laser was only available to ILDA Members, most of whom already own Class 4 lasers, and that the winner has the option of an alternative prize if they do not want, or cannot use, the laser. Additional details about safety and ILDA's use of this laser are on the renewal drawing rules page.

The "Happy New Year" banner which appeared Jan. 1 - Jan. 7 used a portion of an ILDA Award entry submitted by DayStar Lasers. Thanks to them for their assistance.