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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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A coordinated multiyear DOD plan should be conducted to develop radio-frequency (RF) photonic phased antenna-array technology for radar and communications.
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Key technologies such as high-power laser activities and new optics should continue to be pursued by DOD.
Optics in Industrial Manufacturing
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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.
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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
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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.
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Government agencies should continue to support the activities necessary to introduce cost-effective precision aspheric components into both military and commercial products.
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DOD should continue to maintain technology assets and critical skills in optics manufacturing in order to meet future needs.
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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.
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Collaborative programs in optics manufacturing should include universities so that students are trained in the latest technical solutions to production problems.
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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.
Optics Research and Education
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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R&D and applications of solid-state lasers are cross-disciplinary and should be supported by a special initiative involving multiple agencies.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Major Recommendations Sorted by Intended Actor
Department of Defense (Including DARPA)
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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.
-
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.
-
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
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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.
-
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
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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.
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.