National Academies Press: OpenBook

Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century (1998)

Chapter: Appendix A: Collected Recommendations

« Previous: 7 Optics Research and Education
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×

Appendixes

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×

A Collected Recommendations

This appendix collects all the major recommendation of the report together in one place for quick reference. Please refer to the body of the report for further details and explanation. The recommendations are listed twice, first in the order in which they are presented in the body of the report and second, sorted by intended actor.

Major Recommendations Sorted by Chapter

Optics in Information Technology and Telecommunications
  • Congress should challenge industry and its regulatory agencies to ensure the rapid development and deployment of a cost-effective broadband fiber-to-the-home information infrastructure.

  • To push compact disk (CD) and digital video disk (DVD) technologies to higher effective storage densities and performance levels, U.S. industry should develop multilayer storage media; low-cost optical systems for writing and reading data; and efficient, low-cost techniques for mass replication and assembly of multilayer disks.

  • To retain the U.S. technological edge in three-dimensional recording, industry and universities should nurture and accelerate the development of advanced three-dimensional recording media, the design of low-cost optical systems, and the study of systems integration and architectures. It is imperative that these activities be coordinated among university and industrial researchers.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
  • The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) should establish a program to seek new paradigms in optical storage that will reach toward the theoretical storage density limit of about 1.0 terabyte per cubic centimeter (TB/cm3), with fast [(>1 gigabit per second (Gb/s)] recording and retrieval.

Optics in Health Care and the Life Sciences
  • The National Institutes of Health (NIH) should establish a study section for RO1 grants devoted to biomedical applications of light and optical technology. An initiative to identify the human optical properties suitable for noninvasive monitoring should also be established.

  • The National Science Foundation (NSF) should increase its efforts in biomedical optics and pursue opportunities in this area aggressively. This will require a broader interpretation of the NSF charter regarding health care in order to support promising technologies that bridge the NIH and NSF missions.

Optical Sensing, Lighting, and Energy
  • The Department of Energy (DOE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and industry, in cooperation with the technical and professional societies, should pursue a program to enhance the coordination and transfer of optical sensor technology among industry, academia, and government agencies.

  • DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) should coordinate their efforts and create a single program to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of new lighting sources and delivery systems, with the goal of reducing U.S. consumption of electricity for lighting by a factor of two over the next decade, thus saving about $10 billion to $20 billion per year in energy costs.

  • World leadership in optical science and engineering is essential for the United States to maintain its dominance in energy-related technologies such as laser-enhanced fusion, laser uranium enrichment, and solar cells. DOE should continue its programs in this area.

Optics in National Defense
  • The Department of Defense (DOD) should ensure the existence of domestic manufacturing infrastructures capable of supplying low-cost, high-quality optical components that meet its needs via support for the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA) and the Manufacturing Technology Program.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
  • A central, coordinated DOD-DOE time-phased plan should be developed and conducted to enable worldwide optical detection and verification of chemical species that threaten civilians and military personnel through hostile attacks.

  • A coordinated multiyear DOD plan should be conducted to develop radio-frequency (RF) photonic phased antenna-array technology for radar and communications.

  • Key technologies such as high-power laser activities and new optics should continue to be pursued by DOD.

Optics in Industrial Manufacturing
  • A multiagency-supported application and test facility should be established in a service center setting using the DARPA-sponsored Precision Laser Machining Consortium as a model for extension of laser materials processing and other optically assisted manufacturing techniques.

  • NIST should support development of optical metrology and machine vision systems with improved performance, with the ultimate objective of plug-and-play capability.

Manufacturing Optical Components and Systems
  • Government agencies and the optics community should recognize the importance of optics standards, especially their significance in international trade. The U.S. government should participate actively in the setting of such standards. NIST should be given the funding necessary to take the lead in this area.

  • Government agencies should continue to support the activities necessary to introduce cost-effective precision aspheric components into both military and commercial products.

  • DOD should continue to maintain technology assets and critical skills in optics manufacturing in order to meet future needs.

  • The Bureau of the Census should involve representatives of the optics industry in the next revision of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

  • Collaborative programs in optics manufacturing should include universities so that students are trained in the latest technical solutions to production problems.

  • DOD, NIST, and the DOE national laboratories should establish together a cooperative program that provides incentives and opportunities to develop new ideas into functioning methods for optics fabrication.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Optics Research and Education
  • Multiple government agencies should form a working group to collaborate in the support of optics, in a crosscutting initiative similar to the earlier one for high-performance computing and communications systems.

  • The Department of Commerce should explicitly recognize optics as an integrated area of knowledge, technology, and industry and should structure its job and patent databases accordingly.

  • NSF should recognize the dramatic new opportunities in fundamental research in atomic, molecular, and quantum optics and should encourage support for research in these areas.

  • Femtosecond optics and sources offer an opportunity for dramatic impact on science and technology. Agencies should focus attention on this opportunity and encourage innovative work in this cutting-edge field.

  • R&D and applications of solid-state lasers are cross-disciplinary and should be supported by a special initiative involving multiple agencies.

  • Progress in materials science and engineering is critical to progress in optics. The committee recommends that DARPA coordinate and invest in research on new optical materials and materials processing methods with the goal of achieving breakthrough capability through engineered semiconductor, dielectric, and nonlinear optical materials.

  • Multiple agencies with interest in the crosscutting science and technology of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft x-ray optics and techniques should encourage research in this area because of the substantial potential economic payback in the near future.

  • NSF should develop an agency-wide, separately funded initiative to support multidisciplinary research and education in optics. Opportunities include fundamental research in atomic, molecular, and quantum optics; femtosecond optics, sources, and applications; solid-state laser sources and applications; and EUV and soft x-ray optics.

  • The professional societies should work to strengthen optics as a recognized crosscutting area of science and technology through the recently established Coalition for Photonics and Optics. They should evaluate optics programs and jointly produce an annual guide to educational programs in optics. The professional societies should continue to expand their commitment to professional education in optics.

  • Universities should encourage multidisciplinarity in optics education, cutting across departmental boundaries, and should provide research opportunities at all levels, from the bachelor of science to the doctorate and from basic science to applied technology.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×

Major Recommendations Sorted by Intended Actor

Department of Defense (Including DARPA)
  • DARPA should establish a program to seek new paradigms in optical storage that will reach toward the theoretical storage density limit of about 1.0 TB/cm3, with fast (> 1Gb/s) recording and retrieval.

  • DOD should ensure the existence of domestic manufacturing infrastructures capable of supplying low-cost, high-quality optical components that meet its needs via support for DARPA and the Manufacturing Technology Program.

  • A central, coordinated DOD-DOE time-phased plan should be developed and conducted to enable worldwide optical detection and verification of chemical species that threaten civilians and military personnel through hostile attacks.

  • A coordinated multiyear DOD plan should be conducted to develop RF photonic phased antenna-array technology for radar and communications.

  • Key technologies such as high-power laser activities and new optics should continue to be pursued by DOD.

  • DOD should continue to maintain technology assets and critical skills in optics manufacturing in order to meet future needs.

  • DOD, NIST, and the DOE national laboratories should establish together a cooperative program that provides incentives and opportunities to develop new ideas into functioning methods for optics fabrication.

  • Progress in materials science and engineering is critical to progress in optics. The committee recommends that DARPA coordinate and invest in research on new optical materials and materials processing methods with the goal of achieving breakthrough capability through engineered semiconductor, dielectric, and nonlinear optical materials.

National Science Foundation
  • NSF should increase its efforts in biomedical optics and pursue opportunities in this area aggressively. This will require a broader interpretation of the NSF charter regarding health care in order to support promising technologies that bridge the NIH and NSF missions.

  • NSF should recognize the dramatic new opportunities in fundamental research in atomic, molecular, and quantum optics and should encourage support for research in these areas.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
  • NSF should develop an agency-wide, separately funded initiative to support multidisciplinary research and education in optics. Opportunities include fundamental research in atomic, molecular, and quantum optics; femtosecond optics, sources, and applications; solid-state laser sources and applications; and EUV and soft x-ray optics.

Department of Commerce (Including NIST)
  • DOE, NIST, and industry, in cooperation with the technical and professional societies, should pursue a program to enhance the coordination and transfer of optical sensor technology among industry, academia, and government agencies.

  • NIST should support development of optical metrology and machine vision systems with improved performance, with the ultimate objective of plug-and-play capability.

  • Government agencies and the optics community should recognize the importance of optics standards, especially their significance in international trade. The U.S. government should participate actively in the setting of such standards. NIST should be given the funding necessary to take the lead in this area.

  • The Bureau of the Census should involve representatives of the optics industry in the next revision of the NAICS codes.

  • DOD, NIST, and the DOE national laboratories should establish together a cooperative program that provides incentives and opportunities to develop new ideas into functioning methods for optics fabrication.

  • The Department of Commerce should explicitly recognize optics as an integrated area of knowledge, technology, and industry and should structure its job and patent databases accordingly.

Department of Energy
  • DOE, NIST, and industry, in cooperation with the technical and professional societies, should pursue a program to enhance the coordination and transfer of optical sensor technology among industry, academia, and government agencies.

  • DOE, EPA, EPRI, and NEMA should coordinate their efforts and create a single program to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of new lighting sources and delivery systems, with the goal of reducing U.S. consumption of electricity for lighting by a factor of two over the next decade, thus saving about $10 billion to $20 billion per year in energy costs.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
  • World leadership in optical science and engineering is essential for the United States to maintain its dominance in energy-related technologies such as laser-enhanced fusion, laser uranium enrichment, and solar cells. DOE should continue its programs in this area.

  • A central, coordinated DOD-DOE time-phased plan should be developed and conducted to enable worldwide optical detection and verification of chemical species that threaten civilians and military personnel through hostile attacks.

  • DOD, NIST, and the DOE national laboratories should establish together a cooperative program that provides incentives and opportunities to develop new ideas into functioning methods for optics fabrication.

National Institutes of Health
  • NIH should establish a study section for RO1 grants devoted to biomedical applications of light and optical technology. An initiative to identify the human optical properties suitable for noninvasive monitoring should also be established.

Environmental Protection Agency
  • DOE, EPA, EPRI, and NEMA should coordinate their efforts and create a single program to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of new lighting sources and delivery systems, with the goal of reducing U.S. consumption of electricity for lighting by a factor of two over the next decade, thus saving about $10 billion to $20 billion per year in energy costs.

Federal Agencies in General
  • Congress should challenge industry and its regulatory agencies to ensure the rapid development and deployment of a cost-effective broadband fiber-to-the-home information infrastructure.

  • A multiagency supported application and test facility should be established in a service center setting using the DARPA-sponsored Precision Laser Machining Consortium as a model for extension of laser materials processing and other optically assisted manufacturing techniques.

  • Government agencies should continue to support the activities necessary to introduce cost-effective precision aspheric components into both military and commercial products.

  • Multiple government agencies should form a working group to collaborate in the support of optics, in a crosscutting initiative similar to the earlier one for high-performance computing and communications systems.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
  • Femtosecond optics and sources offer an opportunity for dramatic impact on science and technology. Agencies should focus attention on this opportunity and encourage innovative work in this cutting-edge field.

  • R&D and applications of solid-state lasers are cross-disciplinary and should be supported by a special initiative involving multiple agencies.

  • Multiple agencies with interest in the crosscutting science and technology of EUV and soft x-ray optics and techniques should encourage research in this area because of the substantial potential economic payback in the near future.

U.S. Congress
  • Congress should challenge industry and its regulatory agencies to ensure the rapid development and deployment of a cost-effective broadband fiber-to-the-home information infrastructure.

U.S. Optics Industry
  • To push CD and DVD technologies to higher effective storage densities and performance levels, U.S. industry should develop multilayer storage media; low-cost optical systems for writing and reading data; and efficient, low-cost techniques for mass replication and assembly of multilayer disks.

  • To retain the U.S. technological edge in three-dimensional recording, industry and universities should nurture and accelerate the development of advanced three-dimensional recording media, the design of low-cost optical systems, and the study of systems integration and architectures. It is imperative that these activities be coordinated among university and industrial researchers.

  • Congress should challenge industry and its regulatory agencies to ensure the rapid development and deployment of a cost-effective broadband fiber-to-the-home information infrastructure.

  • DOE, NIST, and industry, in cooperation with the technical and professional societies, should pursue a program to enhance the coordination and transfer of optical sensor technology among industry, academia, and government agencies.

  • DOE, EPA, EPRI, and NEMA should coordinate their efforts and create a single program to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of new lighting sources and delivery systems, with the goal of reducing U.S. consumption of electricity for lighting by a factor of two over the next decade, thus saving about $10 billion to $20 billion per year in energy costs.

  • Collaborative programs in optics manufacturing should include universities so that students are trained in the latest technical solutions to production problems.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Universities
  • To retain the U.S. technological edge in three-dimensional recording, industry and universities should nurture and accelerate the development of advanced three-dimensional recording media, the design of low-cost optical systems, and the study of systems integration and architectures. It is imperative that these activities be coordinated among university and industrial researchers.

  • Collaborative programs in optics manufacturing should include universities so that students are trained in the latest technical solutions to production problems.

  • Universities should encourage multidisciplinarity in optics education, cutting across departmental boundaries, and should provide research opportunities at all levels, from the bachelor of science to the doctorate and from basic science to applied technology.

Professional Societies
  • DOE, NIST, and industry, in cooperation with the technical and professional societies, should pursue a program to enhance the coordination and transfer of optical sensor technology among industry, academia, and government agencies.

  • The professional societies should work to strengthen optics as a recognized crosscutting area of science and technology through the recently established Coalition for Photonics and Optics. They should evaluate educational programs in optics and jointly produce an annual guide. The professional societies should continue to expand their commitment to professional education in optics.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 319
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 320
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 321
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 322
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 323
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 324
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 325
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 326
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 327
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 328
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 329
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Collected Recommendations." National Research Council. 1998. Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5954.
×
Page 330
Next: Appendix B: Workshop Participants »
Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $59.00 Buy Ebook | $47.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Optical science and engineering affect almost every aspect of our lives. Millions of miles of optical fiber carry voice and data signals around the world. Lasers are used in surgery of the retina, kidneys, and heart. New high-efficiency light sources promise dramatic reductions in electricity consumption. Night-vision equipment and satellite surveillance are changing how wars are fought. Industry uses optical methods in everything from the production of computer chips to the construction of tunnels. Harnessing Light surveys this multitude of applications, as well as the status of the optics industry and of research and education in optics, and identifies actions that could enhance the field's contributions to society and facilitate its continued technical development.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!