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The Optical Society (OSA) has announced the formation of the International Photonics Advocacy Coalition (IPAC). The global initiative is intended to bring together experts from industry, academia and government to educate policymakers and influencers about photonics technologies; collaborate and coordinate among industry, government and academia to advance knowledge of photonics technologies; and advocate for funding for optics and photonics initiatives. IPAC was launched in conjunction with a workshop hosted by OSA in Brussels, Belgium that brought together scientific and policy leaders from the European Union (EU) to discuss the development of technologies to measure and monitor the global environment.
Optics and photonics – the science and application of light – enables industries from communications to manufacturing, diagnostics to aerospace. As an entry point for international, collaborative photonics work, IPAC will focus on global environmental measurement and monitoring, an area of significant importance with great potential for global unity and advocacy. International efforts – including the Paris Agreement – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, pollutants, biohazards and industrial waste are all pressing environmental issues that require monitoring and measuring technologies. IPAC will focus on encouraging international public and private investment and collaboration on the development of optics and photonics technology providing the basis for measuring and monitoring key environmental variables impacting quality of life.
Beyond global environmental measurement and monitoring, IPAC will also work to integrate optical sciences and technologies into global quantum science and technology initiatives in an effort to advance this new area more efficiently and productively. Recent discoveries in the new area of quantum information science has inspired a global quantum revolution as countries realize the potential to translate such discoveries into valuable, real-world technologies including improved security and privacy in the digital communications systems; enhanced navigation in demanding environments; advanced sensors for geological resource exploration; and superior computational capabilities for complex simulations and modeling of new pharmaceutical drugs and solar-energy-harvesting materials.
Aside from the meeting in Brussels, IPAC will host additional workshops in Asia (31 July 2017) and North America (date TBD) that will serve to bring together academia and industry as well as the policy community to present ideas for recommendations in support of global environmental measurement and monitoring. Perspectives presented during these meetings will be captured a white paper for distribution to international policy leaders.
