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NPI Holds Virtual Hill Visits

News from the NPI

National Photonics Initiative News | April 2021

A diverse group of representatives from industry, academia, and scientific societies participated in this year’s quantum-focused Washington Hill meetings in early March. Over 58 virtual meetings were conducted over a period of four days. Stakeholders from IBM, Honeywell, Google, Microsoft, L3, University of Maryland, University of Oregon, Duke, University of Colorado, Harvard, SUNY Poly, University of Rochester, Toptica, IONQ, NYCREATES, SPIE, and The Optical Society (OSA) joined. In addition to advocating for investments in quantum, participants also discussed the Endless Frontier Act and encouraged members to join the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Optics & Photonics Caucus that was launched in late February.

Congressional Optics & Photonics Caucus Launches

The bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Optics & Photonics (O&P) Caucus was successfully launched in February. The Caucus is co-chaired by Representatives Joe Morelle (D-NY) and Brian Mast (R-FL) and Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Steve Daines (R-MT). It will focus on educating members of Congress about the tremendous potential of optics and photonics and find areas where the federal government can use them efficiently and effectively. The Caucus will also highlight areas of optics and photonics innovation across the country. It’s not too late to encourage your member of Congress or Senator to join the O&P Caucus!

If you missed the Caucus launch, you can watch the launch event HERE