It’s time for the photonics community to “stand up and be counted,” said optics.org Editor-in-Chief Mike Hatcher in today’s newsletter. We agree! Here’s how Mike put it: “The behind-the-scenes work being done by representatives of the U.S. National Photonics Initiative (NPI) appears to be paying off. This week, an official request for information (RFI) from the Department of Defense (DoD) included photonics as one of six technology areas under consideration for a new public-private national manufacturing institute. “That RFI signals the invitation for the wider community - both industrial and academic - to get more directly involved in the process, by feeding back the kind of information that the DoD is looking for. "Now is the time for photonics proponents to communicate as clearly as possible the huge benefits that this technology will bring to the DoD and beyond with proper co-ordination, and the first chance to get involved is a webinar scheduled for tomorrow, ...