Editorial

The current special issue of Journal of Laser Applications (JLA) is publishing papers presented at the International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO 2018). 2018 was an extraordinary year for ICALEO. Not only was the conference another annual highlight in the calendar of laser specialists worldwide, but also the organizing Laser Institute of America (LIA) celebrated its 50th anniversary. ICALEO features three conferences: Laser Materials Processing (LMP), Laser Microprocessing (LMF) and Nanomanufacturing including biomedical applications. ICALEO 2018 was kicked-off by inspiring plenary keynote presentations on the use of lasers in information and computing technologies, as well as optical sensing for autonomous driving and a look in the crystal ball for the LIA in the next 50 years. While scientific and technical presentations on fundamental research topics, applications, and the use of latest equipment are the heart of the event, ICALEO is bringing together people from all over the...