Are You Hungry?

It's that time of year again – when Display Week returns for the 46th consecutive year, and I hope you bring your appetite. While the Society for Information Display (SID) serves up a steady menu of display-related content during the year, it's when Display Week arrives that the feast really begins. This year's multi-course banquet of display-related news, invention, and achievement promises to be a rich and flavorful experience.

People come to SID's Display Week because they know that they can count on high-quality information – the top people in displays bring the finest and freshest ingredients and ideas to this world-class event. SID has built a solid reputation as being the authoritative source of information for the display industry. People know that a SID event provides top-notch information – so rest assured, there will be no belly aches from poor quality offerings here! This year's event draws from more than 800 submissions, reviewed (and in some cases rejected) for quality by more than 100 SID volunteers who are vigilant in maintaining the high-caliber standards that have become the SID hallmark.

The menu for this year's DisplayWeek will feature several new specials along with some favorite standard fare that our members have come to expect over the years. Beginning with the appetizers: the Short Courses, Display Technology Seminars, and Applications Tutorials whet the appetite for those looking to get overviews surrounding some of the most important areas related to display technology. For those with different tastes, the SID Business Conference and SID Investors Conference provide alternative selections for those whose palate prefers the marketing and financial side of the industry.

Some reliably popular main courses are offered up mid-week. The technical symposium encompasses more than 550 papers and poster presentations, covering virtually every major aspect of flat-panel-display (FPD) development, cooked up by some of the leading innovators in display technology from around the world. It's fair to say that nearly all of the major FPD products sold today came to life as a paper presented at a SID Symposium. For the participant, it can be difficult not to overindulge, especially with the abundance of courses within reach.

Every great restaurant has specials, and Display Week is no different. For example, the SID keynote addresses, the SID individual achievement Honors and Awards, and the prestigious Display of the Year Awards rely on the freshest ingredients, namely, the most important industry news and accomplishments of the year. This year's Evening Panel on Tuesday May 20 will add some spice to the proceedings, as display industry experts and leaders gather together to discuss if active-matrix liquid-crystal displays (AMLCDs) will be dominating the industry forever, or whether alternative cuisines in the form of newer display technologies can make AMLCDs into the equivalent of fast food – filling but no longer the staple.

Many new menu items will make their debut this year. For instance, there is a major session on 3-D in Cinema on Wednesday afternoon, May 21, presented by experts associated with the movie industry – this is Hollywood territory, after all! Another new addition is the Display Applications Special Session, which will help educate and provide contacts for design engineers who need to implement displays into their products. If these offerings prove popular, they may find a permanent spot on Display Week menus in future years.

Just when you're starting to feel full, be sure to save some room for the Display Week Exhibition, which is sure to tempt you with the stunning collection of flavors cooked up by over 250 companies that will showcase their latest technology and product offerings in 2008. The exhibit floor shows display technology a bit further along in the product cycle, demonstrating the refinement in recipes that have evolved in the past few years. It is universally understood that the display technology that debuts in this forum will be unveiled as products at events like CES in 2–3 years time.

What's a fine meal without great conversation? Here, SID also provides the networking opportunities to meet with collaborators, assess where your competitors are, and make new connections that will prove valuable later in the year. Part of Display Week's popularity derives from the recognition that this is the premier event in the display industry for experts to come together to compare notes, and take this information back to their com-panies and laboratories to invent the future.

The future of displays is, in large part, invented during Display Week, and serves as the main ingredients for next year's forum and subsequent events. How many restaurants rely on the skill and tastes of the patrons as much as on the chefs behind the scenes? This vibrancy keeps Display Week as a critical component to the future success of the global display industry.

So, I hope you are hungry. Be sure to bring your appetite to Display Week as I promise that there will be plenty to go around. And you don't even need to tip the waiters – though a word of thanks to the SID sponsors and volunteers who serve up this event would of course be welcome! Did anyone say seconds?

Bon Appétit!

Paul Drzaic
President
Society for Information Display