Policy, Technology Innovation Take Focus at Second SPIE Photonics Industry Summit

SPIE will bring together photonics industry stakeholders and U.S. government representatives and elected officials at its second Industry Summit, taking place Sept. 27 in Washington, D.C. The single-day event features discussions, presentations, and panel sessions that aim to provide critical insights into many of the technologies and initiatives that hold implications for the photonics sector.

The event builds on last year’s inaugural summit, held in the aftermath of the CHIPS and Science Act becoming law. Eric Lin, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) interim CHIPS Research and Development Program director, will participate in a semiconductor technologies and manufacturing panel alongside leaders from the Microelectronics Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and Export Administration Bureau of Industry and Security within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Chips technologies will remain a focus as Ceren Susut, the Department of Energy’s acting associate director of advanced scientific computing research, joins a quantum panel that will also feature top representatives from industry and other government offices and departments.

After the inaugural SPIE Industry Summit took place roughly six weeks following President Biden signing the CHIPS and Science Act into law, 2023's summit returns to Washington, D.C., Sept. 27. Courtesy of SPIE.

Kei Koizumi, principal deputy director for policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will speak once again in 2023, on how science, technology, and innovation can function as drivers of economic competitiveness. Frank Peterkin, principal director for directed energy in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, will overview directed energy projects at the DOD. Additional speakers include U.S. Reps. Joseph Morelle (N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), as well as panelists who will convene to discuss workforce development in critical technology areas.

Companies included in the event program include Optimax, Hamamatsu Photonics, Toptica Photonics, and Thorlabs. More information is available via SPIE.com.