© 2024 Innovation Trail

Call for a National Photonics Initiative

Recommendations from a report released last month by the National Research Council of the National Academies were presented at the annual gathering of the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster at the Rochester Museum and Science Center on Monday.

Optic and photonics technologies drive computer and smartphone displays and are used in virtually every sector including medical research, engineering, aerospace and the automotive industry.

One of the co-chairs of the research committee that generated the new report is Dr. Paul McManamon. Dr McManoman is currently a consultant with Exciting Technology, LLC and also serves as half time technical director of the Ladar and Optical Communications Institute of Dayton.

Above is a slightly edited recording of Dr McManamon's address to the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster and you can also view the slides he refers tovia this link.

"Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for Our Nation" was commissioned by a phalanx of research and development entities including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

This latest report was presented as a followup to initial research commissioned by the U.S. Congress in 1998 that was released under the banner of " Harnessing Light".

Executive Director of the New York Photonics & Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, Tom Battley says that Rochester is seen by many as the heart of innovation and commercialization in this industry. He also says that the city played a key role in fulfilling many of the research and policy recommendations of the original report.

This latest instalment of research comes after 14 years of significant advancement in the field by countries such as Germany and Japan.