The first topical meeting on Photonic Switching was held March 18-20, 1987 in Incline Village, Nev., USA in conjunction with the second topical meeting on Optical Computing. It was sponsored by the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society and the Optical Society of America with the co­ operation of the IEEE Communications Society. The attendance at these meetings was well in excess of 500 persons - a measure of the growing worldwide interest in optical techniques for switching and signal process­ ing. Our goal in organizing the Photonic Switching meeting was to provide a forum for the presentation of original papers on the subjects of devices and architectures suitable for switching, multiplexing or routing of optical signals. The purpose of the meeting was to foster and enhance interaction between two groups that share a common interest in exploring possible applications of photonic switching technology: people working on optical switching devices and components, and people working on future switching systems and networks.