optics.org blog

« LED community gathers in San Diego | Main | Meeting and greeting »

26 hours to San Diego: was it worth it?

By Matthew Hidderley and Eve Gaut, Aston Science Park

Hearing the alarm clock ringing at 4am? Setting the alarms off at Aston Science Park en-route to the airport? Flying to New York only to wait around for 8 hours for a connecting flight? Sitting on a cramped internal US flight with no edible food? A total travel time of 26 hours from home to San Diego - and what for? All in aid of visiting LEDs 2008, which promises to offer a comprehensive overview of the LEDs market.

We lost track of the number of times we asked ourselves “is it really going to be worth it” during our grueling journey over here. But we can safely say after our first full day here in San Diego - yes it certainly is!

We kicked off the day with a visit to the world-renowned San Diego zoo whilst waiting for the conference to begin. We got to see plenty of rare and endangered species, including polar bears and giant pandas. We certainly recommend it if you are ever in the area with a few hours to spare.

After visiting the zoo, we made our way back to base at the Sheraton Hotel on the marina, which is also the venue for LEDs 2008. An excellent cheese and wine reception gave us the perfect opportunity to meet up with old friends, such as Chris Jolly from Diodes Incorporated, formerly Zetex Semiconductors, and also network with many others.

We are now looking forward to a very busy and exciting day tomorrow as the fun really begins at LEDs 2008. We will be joining the breakfast sponsored by Dow Corning at 7am, followed by the welcome from the Advisory Committee. As for the rest of the day - you will just have to wait until tomorrow’s blog to find out.

Posted by Jacqueline Hewett on September 30, 2008 8:42 AM | Permalink