February 25, 2009--The board of directors of the Optical Society of America (OSA) approved an energy policy statement that enables OSA to globally advocate for increased research and development (R&D) investments in optics and photonics in order to foster progress in solar energy and new, efficient solid-state lighting technologies. The new emphasis stems from this month's OSA Winter Leadership Conference, at which OSA's board of directors and other committees met to discuss OSA's strategic initiatives and new programs for the coming year.
"The OSA Board of Directors whole-heartedly supports encouraging OSA members to contribute their considerable technical talents and expertise to helping to solve problems in developing renewable energy sources," said OSA president Tom Baer of Stanford University. "We were very fortunate to have U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, join us at our recent OSA Leadership event. His remarks to the OSA Board and other key OSA members underscored the importance of optics and photonics in the development of viable energy solutions and the critical role that OSA scientists and engineers could play in enhancing the viability and improving the performance of new solar energy technologies and efficient solid-state light sources."
Current OSA programs in these areas include:
--Special symposia presenting the latest updates on efficient solar panels and advances in solid-state lighting at OSA's Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics.
--The Optics and Photonics for Advanced Energy Technology topical meeting at MIT, June 24-25, 2009. This meeting will focus on bringing together experts from across the energy value chain, with a focus on key issues, barriers, and opportunities for accelerating the impact of optics and photonics on energy-related technologies.
--Encouraging OSA members worldwide to lobby their governments for increased support of energy-related R&D.
--Organizing caucus briefings targeted at members of the U.S. Congress and their staff working on energy issues.
"OSA is committed to supporting governmental, industrial and scientific efforts to make a positive impact in this vital area," said Elizabeth Rogan, OSA's executive director. "OSA members are uniquely positioned and ready to play a critical role in developing alternative energy solutions."
