The first Pacific Rim Laser Damage Symposium - Optical Materials for High Power Lasers (PLD 2011), organized by the SPIE and Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), successfully took place at the Blue Palace Hotel in Shanghai during the period of Nov 6-9, 2011. The conference was devoted at high level to the recent developments in mechanism, simulation, modeling, characterization and resistance on laser damage of optical materials, and in advanced optical materials with high potentially applied for high power laser. The main topics included: i) high power laser damage (UV through IR), ii) ultrafast through CW laser irradiation effects, iii) laser ablation and laser machining, iv) high laser damage resistant coatings, v) characterization techniques and measurement protocols in laser damage, vi) defects, contamination, polishing, and surface damage, vii) mechanisms, modeling and simulations, viii) nonlinear laser crystals, ix) laser ceramics, and x) optical glass and fibers.

There are 90 papers accepted for oral presentations, contributed by over 100 researchers from more than 8 countries, including United States, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Czech Republic, and China. Three high-level plenary presentations were given by Prof. Jianda Shao (SIOM , China), Prof. Koji Sujioka (RIKEN, Japan) and Prof. Wanguo Zheng (China academy of engineering physics, China), and 16 invited talks in 10 topical areas were given by world-renown scientists and experts in the field.

This conference provided an excellent opportunity for researchers to communicate efficiently and to exchange information on new problems, solutions, and technologies in the field of laser damage as well as optical materials, and also contribute to enhancement of understanding between each other and facilitate closer collaborations among participating researchers.