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UPCOMING EVENTS
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INDUSTRY NEWS
OSA Commends Landmark National Academy of Sciences Report on
Enabling Nature of Optics
Report highlights role of
optical science and engineering in technological and economic
growth
The Optical Society (OSA)
recently applauded the release of a U.S. National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) Committee on Harnessing Light report –
Optics & Photonics:
Essential Technologies for Our Nation –
discussing the current state of optical sciences and goals for
the future. The study, which is a follow up to a similar report
published in 1998, identifies the technological and economic
opportunities the science has enabled, assesses trends in market
needs, gives examples of where progress in photonics innovation
has translated into economic benefits, and makes recommendations
for future research and policies that are intended to advance
the optics and photonics discipline.
“Optics is everywhere – from internet cables and computer chips,
to solar panels and LED lighting and displays, to life-saving
medical imaging devices and tools for advanced manufacturing. It
solves problems, enables technological innovation and improves
lives,” said OSA CEO Elizabeth Rogan. “This report lays out a
specific vision for how optics and photonics technologies drive
innovation and economic growth in areas as diverse as defense,
biotechnology, communications, and manufacturing. OSA applauds
the committee for their thorough work and forward-looking
recommendations in this landmark study.”
Report Highlights
The NAS report examined the use of optics and photonics in seven
content areas – communications, information processing and data
storage; defense and national security; energy; health and
medicine; advanced manufacturing; and strategic materials –
focusing on the enabling nature of optics and its role in
facilitating economic growth. The authors also made a number of
specific recommendations on how the U.S. can best capitalize on
the opportunities optics and photonics provides including:
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Creating a
National Photonics Initiative that brings together public
and private partners to develop an integrated approach to
managing industrial and government investments.
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Positioning
the U.S. as a leader in optical technologies for global data
center business, as demand for capacity and faster
interconnects grows.
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Developing
new biomedical technologies to improve areas such as immune
system cell measurement and pharmaceutical safety and
effectiveness.
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Developing
additive manufacturing technology and implementation,
enabling a greater capacity for custom manufacturing.
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Encouraging
and supporting small U.S. companies to address market
opportunities for applying optics and photonics research
advances in order to create jobs.
“This report will serve as a vital tool in making the case for
sustained investments in and adoption of optical science and
technology worldwide, as it provides specific illustrations of
the technological and economic value of optics and photonics in
a variety of sectors,” said OSA Public Policy Committee Chair
Gregory Quarles of B.E. Meyers & Company. “For example, the
report notes that $4.9 billion worth of laser sales enabled $7.5
trillion of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2009 and 2010.
These types of statistics reinforce the true worth of optics and
photonics technology.”
OSA Events to Discuss
Findings
On Aug. 21, OSA, in conjunction with Stanford University, hosted
a free webcast to discuss the report and celebrate its release.
Speakers included the following NAS committee members:
-
Alan
Willner, University of Southern California, (co-chair)
-
Tom Baer,
Stanford Photonics Research Center
-
David
Miller, Stanford University
-
Milton
Chang, Incubic Management
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Edward
White, Edward White Consulting
A recording of the webinar will be posted on the osa.org
website in the near future.
In addition, OSA has partnered with
four other scientific societies to host events with U.S.
policymakers on Sept. 12, including an event and reception with
federal agency staff at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
– featuring U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Former Chairman
and CEO of Intel Craig Barrett, and representatives from the NAS
committee – and a Congressional briefing for lawmakers and their
staff on Capitol Hill.
Where is the largest optics cluster?
By Tom Hausken, Senior Advisor
A recent OSA LinkedIn discussion asked, “Which optics cluster is
the largest?” The answer may surprise many. In optics, we’re
used to thinking of clusters as local trade associations, such
as the Florida Photonics Cluster, Arizona’s AOIA, and Colorado’s
CPIA .
But that only counts the formal type of cluster. More common is
the informal “de facto” cluster. Examples from other industries
include Hollywood, the London financial center , whiskey
distilling in Scotland, and automaking in Detroit. Michael
Porter is most credited with developing the idea in his 1990
book, “The Competitive Advantage of Nations.”
When viewed this way, Silicon Valley is arguably the largest
optics cluster in the U.S. It includes the headquarters of
Coherent, Infinera, Juniper Networks, Cisco, JDS Uniphase,
Oclaro-Opnext, Newport’s Spectra-Physics operation, Finisar,
Omnivision, and many other companies. It also includes optics
expertise at Intel (in lithography), Lockheed, Stanford’s
photonics center, UC Berkeley, SLAC, NASA Ames, the National
Ignition Facility, and many more. Yet, there is no local trade
association advocating specifically for optics.
How geographically large can a cluster be? Up to the distance
that one can network in a day’s work and no larger. So, while
two people in Palo Alto and Livermore can meet for lunch, it
takes a plane to get from Palo Alto to Southern California. A
large cluster includes supporting infrastructure, such as
hardware and software service companies, and venture capital,
PR, and law firms that cater to the technology.
The largest optics clusters are the big manufacturing centers in
Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China. And not because of sheer
numbers of people employed, but because entire ecosystems are
located there, comprising many layers of the supply chain and
the vendors of manufacturing tools used within them. The Hsinchu
Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan, for example, includes
such giants making or using displays and LEDs as Acer, AU
Optronics, and Lite-On, as well as TSMC, ITRI, and two
universities. Now 32 years old, the park was modeled after
Silicon Valley, including help from Frederick Terman, the
Stanford dean who helped create the Stanford Industrial Park
that led to the Valley. The Hsinchu cluster is therefore an
example of a deliberate, formal plan.
Clusters don’t have to be large and sprawling to make a
difference. Even the phenomenon of gas stations locating near
each other, counterproductive as it seems, is an economy of
agglomeration related to clusters. A small formal cluster may
serve an important role in specialized products, for example, or
in R&D. In a flatter, global economy, the collocation of a
cluster does not always matter to long term success. For
example, ILX Lightwave’s home is in Bozeman, Montana.
Forming a cluster with real critical mass can take decades to
gain real traction. Porter would argue, however, that clusters
help deliver the competitive advantage necessary to play in a
global market.
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