The last few weeks have brought some good news for the advance of photonics research and technology, at least in the near term. On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to authorize $46 billion over the next three years for the America COMPETES Act of 2010, continuing important basic research, science education, and other programs, and initiating new ones for green energy, science and innovation clusters, and workforce development. On 15 December, the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced grant awards totaling $22 million . The TIP awards will fund nine projects in advanced manufacturing research in electronics, biotechnology and nanotechnology, and target technologies in fields ranging from biopharmaceuticals and electronics to renewable energy sources and energy storage. With matching funds from other sources, the TIP awards are expected to result in an estimated $46 mi...