During the period of May 27-30, 2012, the 8th Asia Pacific Laser Symposium (APLS2012) was held successfully in China. The symposium was organized by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)and co-Organized by University of Science and Technology of China & Asian Intense Laser Network. It is sponsored by Chinese Optical Society, Optical Society of Korea and Laser Society of Japan.

The Conference Co-Chairs is Zhizhan Xu and Naiyan Wang, both are the members of CAS.The Chair of International Advisory Committee is Bingkun Zhou, member of CAS and COS Chairman. The Chair of Program committee is Zunqi Lin, member of CAS and the Chair of Organizing Committee is Ruxin Li, director of SIOM.

The conference includes four plenary talks by exceptional researchers who present the recent achievements and future developments in optical sciences and technologies. In addition, the symposium offers 30 invited papers and 145 contributed papers (46 oral and 99 poster presentations) in 8 topical areas, which brings the total number of the presentations to 179.

APLS2012 aims at bringing together scientists and engineers in the field of laser science and technology from the Asia-Pacific region. The conference covers a wide range of topics relating to laser science, technology, and its application in a diverse range of fields.