On October 14-18, the 37th ICALEO-International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics was held in Atlanta, USA. The LIA-Laser Institute of America announced at its annual awards and plenary session that Professor Zhong Minlin from Tsinghua University's School of Materials was promoted from the President-elect to the President of the American Laser Society, starting on January 1, 2019. At the 50th anniversary of the celebration of the American Laser Society, Professor Zhong Minlin was the first president from Asia.

Professor Zhong Minlin

Founded in 1968, the American Society of Lasers was founded by Dr. Arthur Schawlow, one of the inventors of the laser principle, and Dr. Theodore Maiman, the first laser inventor. It is an international authority for laser, laser applications and laser safety, with members all over the world. The President of the Society is the academic leader of the American Laser Society and is responsible for the important core agenda decisions of the Society. The President of the Institute is elected from among the most influential international experts in the field for a term of one year. Generally speaking, it is necessary to be elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Laser Society, a member of the Executive Council, the Secretary-General, and the President-elect to be the chairman. In the 50-year history of the American Laser Society, the vast majority of the presidents were from the United States, and a few came from European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Professor Zhong Minlin was the first Asian scholar to assume the position of chairman.

The new executive board and some newly elected members