SPIE to host third Photonics Industry Summit in Washington DC

06 Sep 2024

Daylong program to feature US Government agencies speaking on federal policy and funding.

High-level: A 2023 SPIE Photonics Industry Summit panel in action.

The forum brings together leaders from the optics and photonics community, executives from related businesses, high-level US government agency representatives, and US congressional representatives.

Collectively, they will be sharing their plans and expectations for optics and photonics-related programs in key areas such as: directed energy, quantum, fusion ignition, and updates on the CHIPS for America program and EDA Tech Hubs.

Featured speakers include:

• US Economic Development Administration’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs Cristina Killingsworth
• US Department of Energy’s Program Director of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Olga Blum Spahn
• NIST’s CHIPS Research and Development Program Deputy Director Eric K. Lin
• NASA Astrophysics Division Director Mark Clampin
• Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Director of the Joint Directed Energy Transition Office Mark Spencer
• Harvard postdoctoral researcher and US Defense Innovation Unit’s Senior Advisor for the Emerging Technology Kushal Seetharam
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Program Director for Optics and Materials Science & Technology in the NIF & Photon Science Directorate Tayyab Suratwala
• Director of the Office of Small Business Programs within Department of Defense Farooq A. Mitha
• SPIE CEO Kent Rochford

New to the event this year will be a Congressional Reception, which will be held on Capitol Hill, at the Rayburn House Office Building, from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM on 24 September. No additional registration is required for this opportunity to network, speak directly with congressional representatives, and advocate on behalf of the photonics industry.

“I’m very excited about this year’s program,” says SPIE Director of Government Affairs Jennifer O’Bryan. “Not only have we attracted the participation of a broad range of senior government officials with significant budget authority, but, for the first time, we are pairing the event with a congressional reception the night before the summit. This will be a unique opportunity to engage with your elected representatives at a location particularly convenient for them, while also taking full advantage of your trip to Washington, DC.”

The event is sponsored by AmeriCOM, Hamamatsu, Jenoptik, LaCroix Precision Optics, Leonardo, Optimax, Quartus Engineering, Sydor Optics, Teledyne, and Thorlabs.

For more information and to register for the SPIE Photonics Industry Summit, please visit our website. Registration for this even closes 13 September.