Duke University has joined four Carolina universities in forming the Carolinas Photonics Consortium (CPC). Representatives of North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western Carolina University, Clemson University and Duke University signed a CPC Inter-Institutional Agreement that establishes a foundation for collaborative university work aimed at the commercialization of photonics or light-based technologies.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to bring science and technology into the service of society--to translate research from the idea stage to the bench top and ultimately into use on the 'street' so to speak,” said Tuan Vo-Dinh, director of Duke’s Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics in the Pratt School of Engineering. "Each of the partner institutions brings complementary research strengths to the table and we believe that photonics is a strong platform for growth in this region of the state and country."

“There is a classic gap between great research and realization of the commercial opportunity. CPC provides a bridge to move technology to the marketplace by engaging a world-class collaboration of universities and providing some important seed money to get the commercialization process started,” said Jeff Conley, Interim Director for CPC.

Photonics researchers from CPC member institutions can now compete for seed money to refine their technology ideas into commercially ready products. In addition, researchers will receive entrepreneurship and business planning advice.

The funding, sponsored by the CPC (www.carolinasphotonics.com), is aimed at accelerating the commercialization of photonics-based technology from each of the five CPC member universities.

CPC is ready to fund promising photonics-based technologies with the goal of establishing new startup companies and strengthening the photonics industry base in the Carolinas.

Carolina Photonics Consortium and Regional Economical Development

 Each of the five consortium members has nationally respected programs in photonics. The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics at Duke has research programs in biophotonics, nano & micro systems, nanophotonics, and quantum optics & information.  North Carolina State University’s strengths are in photonic devices, optoelectonic and semiconductor materials and information technology. The Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has a core competence in microoptics and modeling of optical systems. Western Carolina’s Center for Rapid Product Realization provides prototyping, testing and design expertise for new product scale up. Clemson’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET) is focused on the development of novel optical materials. Over $300M has been invested from state and federal funds over the last five years, making CPC the largest concentration of photonics-based resources in the country.

Photonics-based technologies are used in a wide array of everyday products, including:  DVD players, long distance communication, medical and dental surgeries, dash board lighting, missile guidance, and garage door sensors.  Photonic technologies are being used to compliment or replace electronics in almost every facet of our lives.  Recent advances include high intensity lighting, biochemical detection, high powered lasers for manufacturing needs, and early cancer detection. One of the primary goals of the CPC is the commercialization of photonics-based research by awarding funds to competitively submitted proposals from the five campuses.

CPC website: http://www.carolinasphotonics.com/index.htm