Bozeman, MT--A newly established US photonics cluster, the Montana Photonics Industry Alliance (MPIA), consists of nine member companies, all of which will be exhibiting at SPIE Photonics West 4-6 February in San Francisco, CA.
The Montana Photonics Industry Alliance is a hub for Montana's optics and photonics companies, entrepreneurs, laboratories, and universities that will aid in commercializing, nurturing, and sustaining organizations that create photonics-related jobs and associated economic opportunities in the state of Montana.
SPIE fellow Joseph Shaw, director of the Optical Technology Center at Montana State University (Bozeman), is one of nine board members. Lawrence Johnson, the founder of ILX Lightwave Corp (part of Newport Corp., and also in Bozeman), is president of the new photonics cluster.
MPIA members exhibiting at SPIE Photonics West are SPIE corporate members (all of whom hail from Bozeman) Newport/ILX Lightwave, Quantel USA, FLIR/Scientific Materials, Altos Photonics, Bridger Photonics, Lattice Materials, Quantum Composers, Resonon, and Wavelength Electronics.
I can say that this Laser Focus World editor is trying his best to scrape together a trip (imagining it to be mid to late summer) to learn more about the MPIA.
