Arkansas photonics group holds first conference

The focus of the first statewide Arkansas Photonics Industry Alliance conference, held this fall in Little Rock, was economic development through the growth and strengthening of the state’s 13 photonics companies. Industry representatives, members of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and other state officials attended. The newly formed coalition will help publicly identify the 13 manufacturers and their academic peers as a single industry for the first time.

Photo courtesy of APIA.

Paul McManamon (standing, left), former SPIE president and co-chairman of the National Academy of Sciences study on optics and photonics, emphasized the importance of photonics to the US economy during his keynote address.

The photonics industry employs more than 500 people throughout the state, delivers more than $27 million in wages and contributes more than $77 million of economic impact, the alliance said. Arkansas-based photonics companies include AGL Lasers, BEI Precision Systems & Space, InvoTek, LaCroix Optical, LaserTools, Power Technology and Space Photonics.