NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing photonics technologies (NJ, DE, PA, NY).

Award ID: 2306326

This NSF Regional Engines Development Award is focused on driving collaboration, workforce opportunity, and economic development in the mid-Atlantic region by uniting the rich array of photonics R&D, manufacturing, and workforce resources the region holds. Photonics - the use and control of photons - is a cornerstone of many modern technologies we rely on daily. Healthcare, telecommunications, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, defense, and countless other industries depend on enabling photonic technologies to make applications cleaner, smarter, and more secure. The region of service includes the states of NJ, NY, DE, and PA, home to a dense collection of photonics companies and researchers/educators. Among them are the project partners of Princeton University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Sussex County Community College, Delaware State University, Lehigh University, and other institutes of higher education, along with companies such as Edmund Optics, Thorlabs, Horiba, Hamamatsu, and technical support organizations and investors including VentureWell, NJ Manufacturing Extension Program, SOSV/HAX Accelerator, NJ Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology, and the NJ Economic Development Authority. This project will align these resources and develop a coherent strategy for driving use-inspired research and long-term economic growth within the region and beyond. The project's primary goal is to facilitate connections that can spearhead innovation and economic growth. The project team is committed to creating a regional innovation ecosystem that will amplify application-driven fundamental research and technology translation and integrate education and workforce development that, from its inception, emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Strategies to build community capacity by engaging all stakeholders in raising awareness of the key role that photonics plays in current and emerging technologies will be developed with a focus on increasing the pipeline of industrial and academic participants in ways that emphasize equity, accessibility, and broad societal benefit for the region. The project will focus on the following main activities: Strategic Planning & Economic Development, Application Driven Research, Technology Translation & Entrepreneurship, Education & Workforce Development, Outreach, and Assessment. The project utilizes a highly integrated and diversified organizational structure that welcomes and encourages contributions of all team members, experts, and community members through targeted working groups, public workshops/conferences, and a series of deep dive studies. This development award lays the foundation for the team to establish a future NSF Engine to transform the regional economic landscape built on photonics innovation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Hina Mehta