Welcome to the Avionics, Fiber-Optics and Photonics Conference
(AVFOP 2012)

Welcome to Avionics, Fiber-Optics and Photonics Conference AVFOP 2012 in the World-Famous Cocoa Beach, FL!

I would like to invite you to the Space Coast this year for the Annual AVFOP 2012 Conference at the Courtyard Marriott in Sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida.  The Space Coast is home to many of aerospace industry’s leaders advancing avionics and photonics technologies and two World Champion surfers!  Cocoa Beach is located on the Atlantic Coast and is easily accessible from Melbourne International Airport (MLB) and just an hour away from Orlando International Airport (MCO).  The East Coast Corridor links nine technology supportive colleges and universities including University of Central Florida’s College of Optics and Photonics, CREOL, and Florida Institute of Technology right here in town.

Be sure to make time and plan your conference around spending time on the World-Famous Cocoa Beach, visiting Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and the great water-front bars and restaurants just north at Port Canaveral.  This is also a great time to bring the family and kids, since there is something for everyone here.  For the space enthusiasts, we have John F. Kenney Space Center Visitors Center and the Astronaut Hall of Fame; for the sports enthusiasts we have white sandy beaches perfect for fishing, surfing, or the simple sport of getting a tan; and for the nature enthusiasts we have Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Brevard Zoo and the unique opportunity to see our many breed of sea turtles either nesting in the night or even see nests hatch when they feel it’s the right time!

The Space Coast has over 300-plus days of sunshine and we are hoping AVFOP 2012 will be held over three of these sunny days (11-13 September 2012).  We are excited to continue growing the size and quality of this application-oriented conference that provides a common international forum for leaders, researchers, engineers, technicians, logisticians, manufacturers, and instructors to convene and discuss aspects of new, opto-electronic solutions enabling new missions, architectures and products for the severe aerospace environment.

I am looking forward to seeing the familiar faces from the past conferences and meeting new ones.  Have a great time and be sure to follow us on Twitter this year @AVFOP2012!

Rich DeSalvo                                           

AVFOP 2012 Program Chair