Letter to the Editor
Photonics story mischaracterized industry
Dear Editor,
Thank you very much for bringing the growing photonics industry to the attention of the WBJ readership. However, it is important to point out that Matthew Brown's article "State's Laser Industry Lacks Focus" (Aug. 20, 2007) has a few misconceptions I'd like to clarify. Curiously, Mr. Brown did not speak with several of the major photonics industry publications, including Photonics Spectra, located right in Pittsfield and Laser Focus World, just over the border in southern New Hampshire.
He also managed to miss the New England Fiberoptic Council (NEFC), also based in Massachusetts and made up of dozens of executives from the leading photonic and fiberoptic corporations locally, regionally, and nationally. While it's certainly difficult to speak with every potential source, it's wrong to miss the major ones, especially when they're located right in the state. I'd like to address some misstatements, point by point:
There is no statewide photonics industry association or trade group here.
Based in Chestnut Hill, the NEFC is 20-year-old, member-funded organization with no government subsidies, that covers the New England region as well as portions of the greater Northeast with monthly events and an annual trade show, FiberFest.
The industry itself includes a broad and fragmented range of specialties that don't necessarily have anything in common other than the fact that they all generate and harness light.
It is true, the industry is diverse, and that is its greatest strength. The companies that comprise the industry look at new concepts constantly and are willing to collaborate because photonics, like so many high tech industries, evolves through convergence and cooperation. To facilitate that process, the NEFC offers a variety of high level monthly technical programs covering many aspects of photonics.
The photonics industry isn't just fragmented, however. It's secretive.
It should be no surprise that any high technology company protects its greatest asset - it's intellectual property (IP). Anyone covering technology knows the massive problem of IP theft, "patent trolls," and reverse engineering. However, NEFC presentations have helped promote and champion photonics research at Boston University, Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and numerous leading companies.
We need a state association...Young people are not being exposed to what we do.
NEFC has been giving scholarships to community college students studying fiber optic technology at community colleges in New England for more than 10 years. These colleges prepare graduates to work in the photonics industry and graduates have gone on to work for major local, regional, and national companies.
Mr. Brown is certainly right to say that more needs to be done to promote photonics in Massachusetts on corporate, governmental, and academic levels. But he is wrong to imply that nothing is being done.
Mike Toomey, SCT Group Inc. of Northborough, and publicity chair for the New England Fiberoptic Council.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments