SCHUMER ANNOUNCES ADMINISTRATION TO LAUNCH NEW COMPETITION FOR $200 MILLION IN PUBLIC & PRIVATE FUNDS TO CREATE NEW NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PHOTONICS – SCHUMER SAYS ROCHESTER, ALBANY WELL-POSITIONED TO COMPETE
Fed Funds Will Establish New Institute for Manufacturing Innovation with
Focus on Photonics; Schumer Says Rochester & Albany, Which Are Home
to High-Tech Manufacturing & Robust Photonics/Optics Industry Are
Ideal Candidates for Photonics Hub – Schumer Stands At the Ready
to Support Upstate NY Applicants in Competition
Photonics Hub Has Potential to Boost Manufacturing Innovation, Develop
Companies And Commercial Products & Create Hundreds of Jobs –
Competition Will Allow Cities Like Rochester & Albany to Compete for
Funds that Will Bring Together Business, Government & Academia to
Propel Photonics Industry
Last Year, Schumer Pushed Legislation to Establish Manufacturing Hubs
& Urged Administration to Establish Programs Focused on High-Tech
Manufacturing, Create High-Tech Hubs Throughout The Country to Allow Areas
Like Rochester to Thrive
Last week, on National Manufacturing Day, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer
announced that the Administration is launching a new competition to award
more than $200 million in public and private investment
s to create a new, high-tech Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI)
focused on the photonics industry. Schumer said that the Department of
Defense (DOD) will lead the competition and that cities and regions from
around the country may enter to win these funds.Photonics is a type of
science that incorporates the generation, emission, transmission and amplification
of light, usually involving optics. This light is used for products such
as lasers and telecommunications, and it is an area of expertise for Rochester
and Albany. Schumer said that he previously pushed the Administration
to establish an avenue for cities around the country to create manufacturing
hubs across the country. Schumer said that many areas in Upstate New York,
including Rochester – with its Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster,
Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester and Eastman
Business Park – and Albany – with SUNY Polytechnic's expertise
in nanoscale electronics, the packaging of chips, and photonics –
would be perfect fits to secure funding to establish this new photonics IMI.
Schumer explained that this IMI competition would seek to focus on developing an end-to-end photonics hub in the U.S. and bring together integrated design tools, automated packaging, and workforce development to support this burgeoning industry. Schumer also stated that leading institutions, business, and economic development organizations such as the Eastman Business Park, University at Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology and others have previously expressed interest in pursuing a hub to further grow the Upstate New York photonics industry. Schumer noted that industry and research partnerships in Albany could also be good candidates for this new institute designation. SUNY Polytechnic, Schumer noted, could be a possible applicant due to its expertise in nanoscale electronics, the packaging of chips, and photonics at its campuses in Albany, Rome and Canandaigua. If selected, the research and investment being done in these cities would expand exponentially, and would encourage further business development and job creation throughout Upstate New York.
“I have long been a supporter of Upstate New York’s photonics and optics industry, and have pushed to help create just this type of competition to leverage all of the expertise and technical know-how in photonics—in Rochester, Albany, and cities across New York—to build on that strong foundation, create jobs, and lead our nation in this cutting-edge industry,” said Schumer. “We cannot concede ground to China, Germany, or the many other countries that are currently making investments to try and leap frog over the United States and become the world’s manufacturing and R&D leaders in the industrial sectors that will dominate the world's future economy, such as photonics. This type of opportunity, to establish a photonics-focused Institute of Manufacturing Innovation is exactly what I've been pushing for so that we can stay ahead. And there is no better place to start building and strengthening a domestic industrial base for that effort than right here in Rochester, Albany and Upstate New York.”
Schumer has long been a supporter of an institute that would bring together resources, tools and workforce development surrounding the integrated photonics industry. Just last year Schumer, in partnership with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) led the charge to create these kinds of unique manufacturing hubs – each intended to focus on its own specialized technology. In February 2013, Schumer joined local experts in Rochester’s optics technology and high-tech manufacturing industry at the Eastman Business Park to launch the first-ever plan to create a national network of manufacturing hubs, with the aim of bringing one to Upstate New York. Schumer said that he plans to fight for Upstate New York applicants to the IMI competition so that New York might secure the funding to create a photonics institute and spur greater economic development.
As part of his budget for fiscal year 2013, President Obama recommended investing $1 billion to create a network of 15 manufacturing hubs called Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI). While an initial pilot hub center was opened in Ohio in 2012, and President Obama indicated his desire to create three additional pilot centers on an interim basis funded through the Energy and Defense Departments. Ultimately the President urged Congress in his 2013 State of the Union Address to pass legislation authorizing the full network of centers. Schumer, in partnership with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the first-ever legislation to create these unique manufacturing hubs – each intended to specialize in its own specialized technology – and this bill is working its way through Congress, having recently passed the House of Representatives. Schumer said that the Administration’s decision to move forward with these Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation while the legislation is still being considered is an excellent step.