CPIA is a not-for-profit association of industrial, educational, and governmental entities involved in research, development, and/or the sale of products or services that involve photonics technologies.
Mission: To promote the photonics industry both within and outside the state of Colorado for the enhancement of our members.
CPIA unites the industry to promote the strength and contribution that photonics technologies make in Colorado. It publicizes this strength in industry trade shows and international business forums, and promotes the needs and wants of the Colorado Photonics Industry to the local and federal governments. It provides a forum for industry, academia, and government laboratories to collaborate on research and development projects. It also partners to pursue research funding or investment capital.
The Colorado photonics cluster has been steadily growing for several decades. It now consists of a diverse array of large and small companies, four national research laboratories and four educational institutions.
Historically, companies with reliance upon optics and photonics technology have been thriving in Colorado for years. Today, photonics is a key part of most leading technical industries in the state, including aerospace, defense, medical equipment, imaging, sense, data storage and telecommunications. Photonics may be used in their products, or as part of the process of making and testing their products.
In 1996, researchers from the University of Colorado and executives from several photonics companies met and determined there was a need for broad collaboration in Colorado that would build upon the diverse elements of the industry. On November 3, 1997, the Colorado Photonics Industry Association (CPIA) was formed as a Colorado nonprofit corporation. Since then it has supported the formation of the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center, the formation of a photonics technician training program, and many research grants brought to the state. CPIA quarterly meetings, featuring speakers on timely topics, continue to be well attended. CPIA also maintains a strong presence at SPIE's Photonics West exhibition each year, where a section of the main floor is reserved for Colorado photonics companies.
In the past ten years that CPIA has been active, over one hundred new photonics based companies have formed in the state, and employment levels continue to grow. Three Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Coloradoans, all for photonics related research. The Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology, which is a partnership between Colorado State University, the University of Colorado, UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was established, which should result in continuing off shoots of technology and companies within the state.
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