Controlling light with light

The field of photorefractive physics and optics is mature and, although there is no significant commercial activity using photorefractive media, researchers in the field have had an extraordinary impact on many related areas of research and development. For example, in the late 1990s many of the telecom innovations and products were based on the interaction between light and matter. Examples include optical switches, filters, gratings, routers and light sources. The theory of multiple interacting beams of light inside a photosensitive medium, many of which were developed or further explored in photorefractive media, has found application in medicine, engineering, communication systems, displays and other photonics devices. On the occasions of the 30th anniversary of the theory of coupled wave analysis and the 10th anniversary of the meetings on Photorefractive Effects and Devices, it seemed appropriate to the meeting organizers of PR'07 to broaden the scope to include other related fields. The name of the meeting was changed to Controlling Light with Light: Photorefractive Effects, Photosensitivity, Fiber Gratings, Photonic Materials and More to attract a larger audience than traditionally would attend the more narrowly focused photorefractive meeting. To further disseminate the results of the 2007 meeting, Gerald Roosen proposed a special publication of original full research articles arising from key presentations at the meeting. The selection of papers in this Cluster Issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics is the result of that initiative. We would like to thank all the authors for their contributions, the committee members for their valuable insight and efforts in helping to organize the meeting, and the Optical Society of America for their professional assistance throughout the preparation period of the meeting as well as during the three beautiful days in Lake Tahoe, CA.