LEOS 2005, to be held this 23 - 27 October in Sydney, Australia, is the 18th Annual Meeting of the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS). This conference has established itself as an important forum for the latest developments in lasers and electro-optic technologies. With a strong core of invited talks given by preeminent speakers from around the globe, LEOS 2005 will provide an ideal platform to learn about new fields and understand technological trends. The conference incorporates, short courses, invited papers, topical symposia and contributed technical papers addressing a broad spectrum of topics of interest to LEOS members and the lasers and electro-optics community.