Page 2: Industry group urges support for photonics at U.S. Congressional offices

Editor’s note: This article is continued from page one.

Pictured: Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Maryland) is congratulated by SPIE President-Elect Robert Lieberman after being awarded the George E. Brown Award during the STEM on the Hill reception. Edwards and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) were honored with the award for their vision in promoting public policies that benefit science and engineering.

Furthermore, the NPI group also expressed support for:

• President Obama’s budget request for science research and development within the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institute of Health and the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and DOD and technology programs.
• Rejection of the administration's budget request for cuts in the DOD basic research account. The NPI is urging Congress to uphold a proposal increasing funds for applied research.

Jim McNally, chair of the SPIE Engineering, Science, and Technology Policy committee and member of the SPIE Board of Directors said that the experience was quite positive, and that the combination of visits and leave-behind materials proved to be effective.

"NPI CVD was a very positive experience," said Jim McNally, chair of the SPIE Engineering, Science, and Technology Policy (ESTeP) committee and member of the SPIE Board of Directors. "At each office we visited, we delivered our message of support for the priority of providing funding for legislation that will enable photonics to help make the economy stronger and our technology more competitive."

He added, "Our New Mexico senators, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, are very supportive of our priorities," he said. “Our visits and the materials prepared by SPIE and NPI to leave with our elected federal officials and their staffs were well received."

Members of the SPIE CVD team and the regions they represented included:

• Christina Willis, Washington, D.C.
• Farzan Ghauri, Illinois
• Filipp Ignatovich, New York
• Jason Mulliner, Arizona and New Jersey
• SPIE Fellow Jim McNally, New Mexico
• Julia Majors, California and Texas
• SPIE Fellow Marc Himel, Florida
• SPIE Fellow Martin Richardson, Florida
• Murat Yildirim, Texas
• Nishant Mohan, North Carolina
• SPIE President-Elect Robert Lieberman, California
• Stephen Anderson, Maryland
• Tyler Morgus, New Jersey
• Tom Battley, New York
• Volker Sorger, Virginia

View the SPIE press release.

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