SPIE Photonics Industry Summit Will Bring Policymakers and Optics and Photonics Industry Leaders Together

The day-long event will provide insight into US government efforts across many emerging technology areas enabled by optics and photonics seen as critical to the government’s long-term strategic goals, including AI, quantum, hypersonics, energy, and semiconductors

BELLINGHAM, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, will host its first-ever Photonics Industry Summit on 21 September in the heart of Washington, DC. This one-day event is aimed toward companies manufacturing optics and photonics products as well as executives within related industries. Attendees will hear from multiple high-level US government agency and Congressional speakers who will discuss their latest plans for optics and photonics-related programs in key technology areas – including AI, quantum, hypersonics, energy, and semiconductors – as well as ways in which the industry can align to support and benefit from these efforts.

Featured speakers include the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Principal Deputy Director for Policy Kei Koizumi; Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s Acting Director for Technology Jennifer Gerbi; Maynard Holliday, the US Department of Defense’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under-Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Laurie Locascio, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The event will also include a panel discussion with industry leaders regarding the current challenges faced within the optics and photonics field, and ways the US government can assist in mitigating these issues. More speaker announcements will be made between now and September.

“This broad-ranging discussion on the current direction of US government policies and funding has something for everyone working within the optics and photonics industry,” notes SPIE Director of Government Affairs Jennifer O’Bryan. “If you’re looking for information and networking opportunities that will contribute to the strategic growth of your business, this is the room you will want to be in.”

This event is sponsored by Google, AmeriCOM, Edmund Optics, Excelitas Technologies, Hamamatsu, Jenoptik, Leonardo Electronics, Optimax, Thorlabs, and TOPTICA Photonics.

For more information on the SPIE Photonics Industry Summit and to register for the event, please visit our website at https://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photonics-industry-summit.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $22 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.