For immediate release
Web version: http://spie.org/x90446.xml
'Optics and Photonics' launch events stress opportunity
for economy, R&D leadership
WASHINGTON, D.C., and BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA ― 13
September ― The payoff from investing in optics and photonics will be a
stronger economy and R&D leadership, according to a recently released
National Academies report introduced to lawmakers on 12 September. Speakers at
two Capitol Hill events for policymakers and legislators highlighted key
components and challenges from "Optics and Photonics, Essential
Technologies for Our Nation." Sponsors were SPIE, the international
society for optics and photonics, as well as the American Physical Society
(APS), the IEEE Photonics Society, and the Optical Society (OSA).
Energy Secretary Steven Chu and former Intel CEO Craig
Barrett participated in the morning launch presentation at the Ronald Reagan
Building, attended by federal agency staff and other stakeholders.
Chu noted that a significant challenge now for renewable
energy sources such as wind and solar is not science and technology, but
implementation. For example, installing solar panels on a roof is about three
times as expensive in the U.S. as in Germany, due not to panel or installation
costs but to licensing and inspection regulations, some of which predate solar
and are not relevant to it. He urged that R&D continue, and stressed that
overall planning should be broad enough to encompass deployment and
cost-competitiveness goals.
Chu said that more science and engineering influence in
government helps focus on looking for solutions rather than limitations in
technology, and talked about important potential in other areas covered in
report, such as high-resolution imaging of cell processes in controlling and
preventing disease.
Barrett said that government and industry each have a
role to play in supporting photonics and elevating awareness of it among
decision-makers. "I think the key issue here is really singling out
photonics and optics as one of the key technologies of the 21st century. And by
the way, just about every other major economic power has done the same thing
already," he said in an interview with SPIE <http://spie.org/x90425.xml> prior to
the event.
"I think that the biggest opportunity that the U.S.
still has is to take its investment in basic technology research back to same
level as a percent of GDP as it was 30 or 40 years ago," he said.
The afternoon event at the Rayburn House Office Building
was attended by congressional representatives and staffers. Speakers included
Martin Richardson, University of Central Florida; Greg Olsen, Princeton
University; Tom Baer, Stanford University; and SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs.
Hear more comments on the report and the potential of
optics and photonics in a brief video interview with Barrett and Olsen at http://spie.org/x90446.xml.
The report assesses the current state of optics,
photonics, and optical engineering in the United States, prioritizes research
grand-challenge questions to fill technological gaps, and recommends actions to
support global leadership in photonics-driven industry.
The report calls for a National Photonics Initiative to
improve the efficacy of U.S. public and private R&D resources, emphasizing
the need for public policy that encourages adoption of a portfolio approach to
investing in the opportunities available within photonics.
"Opportunity calls and its name is
'photonics'," Arthurs said at the caucus briefing. He noted the report's
specific recommendations for increased R&D investment in areas including
photonics communications, data infrastructure, security and defense,
healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable clean energy, and the
related opportunity for creation of large numbers of high-quality jobs.
SPIE<http://spie.org/>
is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit
organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society
serves nearly 225,000 constituents from approximately 150 countries, offering
conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in
support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional growth, and
patent precedent. SPIE provided over $2.7 million in support of education and
outreach programs in 2011.
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