I tried to add to my post but I guess I timed out (?)(sorry to clutter the board).

Edit: If you read through that PIC (Photonics Integrated Circuits) Conference Agenda it is so stacked with related topics. Examples: An in-depth look at the deployment of PIC technology in long haul networks and a perspective on future applications (Infinera speaker), The impact of integrated photonics on the optical communications market (analyst from LightCounting Market Research), Strategies for photonic integration for metro and long-haul networks (Ciena), Integrated photonics systems to meet challenges in optical and wireless system convergence (Huawei), PIC-enabled telecommunications and data centre interconnects: state of the art and future prospects (Oclaro), etc, etc. Other attendees include: MIT, HP, Intel, IBM, etc. So I think it would be good if he showed up and gave a rousing talk.