Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) today were awarded a $4 million grant by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (US) to create a comprehensive joint laboratory that will support the growth of the burgeoning integrated photonics industry across the Northeast, while also providing training and education to help build a skilled integrated photonics workforce in Central Massachusetts.
The grant, announced by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito at an event on the WPI campus, will fund a partnership between WPI and QCC for the launch of an AIM Photonics Academy Lab for Education & Application Prototypes (LEAP), a new facility that will support the development of this emerging advanced manufacturing sector.
Last year, MIT, home of AIM Photonics Academy, received state funding for the first LEAP facility, which has a focus on packaging. WPI and QCC will now establish the state’s second LEAP facility, with a focus on design and testing of integrated photonic devices, and on workforce development.
WPI and QCC are part of the American Institute for Manufacturing (AIM) Integrated Photonics. AIM Photonics is one of 14 public-private manufacturing innovation institutes focused on a wide range of technologies that was launched as part of a federal initiative to revitalize American manufacturing. WPI is a member of eight Manufacturing USA institutes, including AIM Photonics.
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