QCC, MIT tapped for national photonics push
Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) will be a partner in a $600 million national effort to boost training in photonics, a discipline that studies and uses light for electronics and other applications.
The state Department of Housing and Economic Development announced Thursday that QCC will collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of the national Integrated Photonics Institute in Manufacturing Innovation.
The photonics institute is a public-private partnership awarded through the federal National Network for Manufacturing Innovation competition. New York’s SUNY Polytechnic Institute is leading the project nationally.
MIT will lead the application of new photonics technology in areas including health care technology, robotics, cyber security, and advanced manufacturing, according to the statement from the Housing and Economic Development department.
QCC, meanwhile, at its Southbridge campus will serve as the national community college leader in training middle-skill workers in photonics-based technologies.
“Quinsigamond Community College is thrilled to be a national partner and lead the Community College Network,” QCC President Gail Carberry said in the statement. “The Network, led by Dr. Dale Allen, QCC vice president for Community Engagement, will support the creation of industry recognized modules for accelerated, stackable certificates in pathways to 1-, 2-, 4-, or 6-year certificates or degrees.”
MIT Provost Martin Schmidt said in the statement that photonics “holds the key to advances in computing,” and its pursuit will “engage and energize research and economic activity” around the country.
“I am excited about Massachusetts’s role in this innovative partnership, and I am thrilled that Quinsigamond Community College will be a national leader in translating cutting-edge photonics research to workforce development,” Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in the statement. “Through this innovative partnership, we are using our state’s leadership in advanced research to transform our manufacturing sector, and train an advanced manufacturing workforce.”
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