NPI looks forward to supporting institute in work to advance American photonics industry

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2015 — (PRNewswire) —  The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) congratulates SUNY Polytechnic Institute and other members of the New York consortium on their selection as the country's first Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IP-IMI). Proposed as part of President Obama's National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), the IP-IMI was established to bring government, industry and academia together to advance state-of-the-art photonics technology and better position the United States relative to global competition in this critical field.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute was joined by University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology and a regional cluster of photonics businesses to submit the proposal that was selected from among three finalists. The Department of Defense (DOD) has committed to investing $110 million in the IP-IMI. The other two finalists were University of Central Florida and University of Southern California.

On behalf of the NPI, Steering Committee Chairman Alan Willner issued the following statement:

"Today is a great day for the US photonics industry, and we congratulate the New York consortium on this win. While other countries have heavily invested in advancing their optics and photonics industries, the United States' lead in this cutting-edge technology has dwindled. Establishing an IP-IMI in New York is a step in the right direction for our industry and will strengthen our country's position as the world leader in transitioning photonics research to commercial markets."

"The NPI and its supporting societies are committed to the long-term success of the IP-IMI. Since the IP-IMI selection process began in June 2014, the NPI has worked to educate the photonics community about this historic opportunity and pledged its support to whichever consortium was ultimately selected by the Department of Defense (DOD). We are prepared to help the IP-IMI, and by association work with the DOD, by leveraging the platforms, programs and resources of our scientific societies. The NPI looks forward to continuing its role as an advocate for the photonics community and continuing to serve as a private sector resource for the DOD as this project now moves from idea to reality."

Optics and photonics are the science and application of light. Specifically, photonics generates, controls and detects light to advance robotics, manufacturing, medical imaging, next-generation displays, defense technologies, biometric security, image processing, communications, astronomy and much more. Integrated photonics circuits incorporate multiple miniature optical structures to manipulate and control beams of light, in the same way that integrated electronic circuits control electrons, in order to encode, transmit and decode information. A major goal for the IP-IMI will be to develop low-cost, high volume, manufacturing methods to interface electronic integrated circuits with integrated photonic devices.

ABOUT THE NPI: The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) is a collaborative alliance among industry, academia and government to raise awareness of photonics and the impact of photonics on our everyday lives; increase cooperation and coordination among US industry, government and academia to advance photonics-driven fields; and drive US funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US economic competitiveness and national security. The initiative is being led by top scientific societies including the American Physical Society (APS), the IEEE Photonics Society, the Laser Institute of America (LIA), The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics. For more information visit www.lightourfuture.org

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SOURCE The National Photonics Initiative (NPI)

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The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) Web: http://www.lightourfuture.org