UK program bridges photonics research and industry
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UK program bridges photonics research and industry www.su2p.com
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wo underlying goals of the United Kingdom’s (UK) science strategy are accelerating the pace at which basic research is translated into useful technologies and fostering international collaborations. As part of this strategy, the UK is supporting a partnership between universities in Scotland and California that brings together photonics research and industry, motivating materials research aimed at meeting industry needs. The Scotland Universities, Stanford University Partnership (SU2P) is a threeyear initiative focused on, but not limited to, five research areas: biophotonics, solar cell devices and characterization, integrated photonics, solid-state laser engineering and nonlinear optics, and photonics sensors. Materials development plays a key role in each of these areas. By connecting researchers directly with industry partners, SU2P aims to incorporate new materials into useful technologies more quickly. Metamaterials are one example of this, said Thomas Baer, executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research
Center and a founding member of SU2P. Using techniques developed in the integrated circuit industry, research groups have been able to produce materials with unique optical properties. “Breakthroughs of this type are in part motivating increased investment in the photonics material science area in both the UK and the US, and provide a rationale for optimism that these investments will result in new device capabilities,” he said. Both the United States (USA) and the UK recognize the importance of photonics research for technological advancement, said Baer. He continues, “In academia in the UK there is perhaps a better appreciation of the need for and acceptance of increased federal investment into translation activities.” According to Iain Ross, SU2P Director, UK funding sources have significantly increased the “impact” requirement of research over the past decade. “Fortunately the photonics research community in Scotland has always had very strong relationships with industry and has strived (through programs such
as SU2P) to maximize the transfer of knowledge into industry and society,” he said. SU2P aims to break down the barriers across the Atlantic and between academia and industry through five interventions: 1. enabling employees of participating institutions to spend up to six months at a partner institution doing exploratory work that has a potential commercial outcome; 2. supporting collaborative, shortterm, proof-of-concept projects that have definite commercial potential; 3. building a network of investors interested in photonics technology and connecting them with researchers through technology showcases and company and university visits; 4. engaging industrial partners to determine research needs and identifying researchers that can provide industrial partners with advice and potential solutions; and 5. supporting early-career fellows to work at Stanford University or an affiliated laboratory for one year, where they recei
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