Proposed U.S. legislation backs optics and photonics as competitive advantage

Aug. 11, 2014

The U.S. Senate has taken a first step toward explicit congressional endorsement of optics and photonics as a vital enabling tool for the economy--a major goal of the National Photonics Initiative.

Conard Holton

The U.S. Senate has taken a first step toward explicit congressional endorsement of optics and photonics as a vital enabling technology for the economy--a major goal of the National Photonics Initiative (NPI). The language is part of a bill from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, chaired by Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller (D, New York), and states that “optics and photonics research and technologies promote U.S. global competitiveness in industry sectors, including telecommunications and information technology, energy, healthcare and medicine, manufacturing, and defense.”

The bill--which still faces legislative hurdles and possible revisions before becoming law--is known as the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science) Reauthorization Act of 2014. It recommends that federal agencies work with optics and photonics industry and research partners and support internal programs to leverage knowledge and resources and to promote innovation. The America COMPETES Act first became law in 2007, and was reauthorized in 2010. It was intended to drive investment in innovation through R&D, and to improve the global competitiveness of the U.S.

“We are gratified and delighted to see support for optics and photonics in this legislation. This recognition underscores the vital roles that applications of these technologies play in the lives of people everywhere,” said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. “Senator Rockefeller and the committee are to be commended for this sound inclusion, and the membership and partners of SPIE are grateful for their vision.”

The technology was specified by the Department of Defense in its recent request for information on focus areas for new proposed Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation, and was identified by the National Science Foundation as a key area of interest for research and education. A report titled Building a Brighter Future with Optics and Photonics was issued this spring by the Fast-Track Action Committee on Optics and Photonics for the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.