| The U.S. Election and Beyond |
Elections for U.S. national, state, and local offices take place 3 November 2020 and many eyes are on the Presidential election, largely a contest between Republican incumbent Donald J. Trump and Democratic challenger and former Vice-President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. For the optics and photonics community, and science generally, we provide below a snapshot of the candidates' relevant past actions and campaign promises. More detailed and additional information can be found on President Trump's and Mr. Biden's campaign websites and elsewhere.
As Vice-President, Mr. Biden helped to create the Cancer Moonshot to speed up cancer research and treatment development. His campaign has said a Biden administration would increase the availability of permanent, employment-based visas, and that the number would be adjusted based on the labor market. Mr. Biden's campaign has also said he would exempt from any visa cap recent graduates of Ph.D. programs in STEM fields. On the environment, his campaign has promised to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and implement new environmental programs, policies, regulations, and more. His campaign says he would expand broadband access to all communities in the country. As a historical note specific to our community, Mr. Biden spoke in 2015 in New York at the site announcement event for AIM Photonics.
President Trump has focused increased spending on the federal government's research efforts in several key areas--artificial intelligence, quantum information science, 5G communications, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology--while proposing to reduce funding for others in the non-defense portfolio. NASA's work in crewed exploration also saw increased support. His administration has reduced or sought to reduce immigration to the U.S. for students, researchers, and workers from certain countries and immigration statuses. On the environment, President Trump informed the United Nations that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, has generally pursued energy and environmental deregulation, and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. His Administration has been considering new export controls on "emerging" and "foundational" technologies. His campaign has said he would expand broadband access to rural communities.
Mr. Trump's running mate is Vice-President Michael R. Pence. Mr. Biden's running mate is Senator Kamala Harris (California). |
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| New OFC 2021 Dates |
| The OFC Conference has been rescheduled, 06 - 10 June 2021. The exhibition is 08 - 10 June. The event is held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, USA. |
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| Coming in November |
| Get the latest advances in high-brightness sources, attosecond science, light-driven interactions and mid-IR laser technologies. There is no cost to attend. |
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| Shining The Light On What's To Come |
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| Political Events & Our Industry |
| The saying 'bad news travels fast' was never truer than early this year, when the pandemic brought the entire globe to a standstill. How will current political events impact our industry? |
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| Weather the Storm |
| The latest results indicate that, according to official financial statistics, optics/photonics is faring as well as can be expected under the circumstances of the pandemic. Read OIDA’s update. |
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| Become An OSA Ambassador |
| Interested to share your experience and perspective with students and early career professionals in the field? Apply to be a 2021 OSA Ambassador by visiting osa.org/ambassador. Applications open on 15 October and close on 15 November. Any OSA Recent Graduate, Early Career Professional, or Individual Member who has achieved their highest degree in the last five to seven years. Learn more. |
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| The Light Is On You |
| 2019 OSA Fellow Ebrahim Karimi advises young scientists that "It is extremely important to keep your curiosity level as high as that of a child." Learn more. |
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| 2020 Honorary Member |
| Congratulations to Milton Chang, who joins our most distinguished member category for his visionary leadership and ongoing support for our industry and OSA. Learn more. |
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| 2 Courses 1 Live Training |
| These All-Day courses will provide fundamentals of Optical Wireless Communications with special emphasis on technologies and techniques including systems design and performance analysis in achieving high bandwidth, much higher than that exists today. |
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| 5G and Beyond |
| Building on the basic principles of optical design, this course uses various examples to illustrate the systems-engineering processes of requirements analysis, feasibility and trade studies, requirements flowdown and allocation, error budgets, and component specifications. |
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The Optical Society
2010 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036 USA
+1 202.223.8130 |
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