Idl Outline.docx

Dear Kate Riley, Pegged to May 16, UNESCO’s annual International Day of Light, I’d like to suggest an op-ed by Kent Rochford, CEO of Bellingham-based SPIE, the international society of optics and photonics. An eloquent and knowledgeable writer, Kent would discuss the myriad benefits and growing applications of lightbased science, as well as some of the some of the Seattle and PNW companies and organizations working in light-based science and technologies. The International Day of Light provides a yearly focal point for celebrating the role that light plays in our daily lives, across science, culture, education, and sustainable development, in fields ranging from medicine and energy, to communications and smart structures. Optics and photonics, the field of light-based science, is growing rapidly: INDUSTRY INFO FROM STEVE HERE. What do we want from him? Something about terms we’re hearing about like 5G and quantum enabled by photonics? A few potential talking points:

Commented [KP1]: I don’t think this is a common enough term, perhaps smart cities or manufacturing.

Commented [KP2]: I would look through the industry booklet to see if anything jumps out. Maybe one large global number and one US number, showing the size of the photonics industry.

Kent could speak to the benefits and many uses of lasers, both commercial and technical, as well as lasers growing profile: last year’s Nobel Prizes in Chemistry acknowledged accomplishments from work with lasers. nLIGHT, a Vancouver, Washington-based company, specializes in lasers for consumer electronics as well as medical and military applications. Light-based biomedical applications Paul Allen? The term “quantum” is bandied about everywhere, but how will it affect the general population? The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) recently went back online after enhancing their equipment and allowing scientists to explore the universe more deeply—how can this be more general? AR/VR Microsoft Hololens Botticelli story of art and spectroscopy From small companies like Powerlight, the Kent-based company using lasers to beam power wirelessly to large conglomerates like Microsoft working on the next generation of computers and AR/VR, Washington state is home to some of the most innovative uses of light-based technologies. (something like this might sum up what we would cover nicely for the pitch)

Commented [KP3]: Paul Allen Brain institute is doing a lot of research using light and imaging to understand how the brain functions to better treat neurologic problems like dementia and schizophrenia.

Commented [KP4]: Detecting collisions of neutron stars and galaxies being born light years away.