From Kudu to Panther – International Structured Light and Matter Conference Coming to Graz

From Kruger National Park in South Africa to Graz in Styria: next international conference bringing together various communities dealing with structured electromagnetic fields will be held in the Styrian capital, organizes by the OpNaQ group. Image: Uni Graz/Banzer

After a successful bid, the next edition of the International Conference on Optical Angular Momentum (ICOAM) – the most important conference of the structured light scientific communities – will be held in Graz, Austria in 2026.

What do the South African Kudu and the Styrian Panther have in common? Well, one has been, the other one will be witness to a very special kind of scientific conference, the International Conference on Optical Angular Momentum (ICOAM). After an exciting ICOAM at vibrant Kruger National Park, South Africa in 2024, the conference series is coming to Graz in 2026, organized by the OpNaQ group at the Institute of Physics. Following the bid for (and presentation of) the City of Graz as fantastic event location for the ICOAM 2026, a jury ultimately decided in favor of the Styrian capital. Various other applications and bids came from the USA, China and Mexico. Over the years, the ICOAM has become the most important and influential conference for the scientific structured light and matter communities.

Previous editions of the ICOAM series took place in Tampere (Finland), Ottawa (Canada), Anacapri (Italy), New York (USA), Glasgow (Scotland), and York (England). Now, we look forward to welcoming the conference participants to Graz in 2026! Stay tuned!

Contact: Peter Banzer; Optics of Nano and Quantum Materials (website)

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