ANALYSIS AND OPINION EUGENE ARTHURS
to keep developing. And get the recognition for accomplishments. In vibrant tech companies the engineers and scientists will be part of the decision making process – making the future – and not just an expense item in the financial reports. As I see more consolidation in the industry, I wonder whether innovation will suffer. In recent decades, large traditional companies in the US have tended to think of R&D talent as in the ‘back room’. Our industry has rightly been called fragmented, with a lot of technical leadership, and as a result has been a hotbed of creation. We can benefit somewhat by embracing business school concepts particularly the focus on potential customers, but need to protect the inventive spirit. You asked what the industry must do to retain talent, and I suggested a real commitment to ongoing growth of these skilled people. Personnel reviews, if they survive, should have a significant focus on technical growth of the individual. While I say this, I note that the individual has a responsibility here. S/he should seek and make use of opportunities to keep current. I really believe that engagement with professional associations like SPIE will help both companies and individuals meet these challenges and help both nurture the excitement that drives so many of these brilliant young people.
Is enough being done to encourage collaboration between the industry, academia and government? You have hit one of my hot buttons here. Though the short answer is ‘no’, I am glad to see some movement in this, particularly in the UK. I think Germany has done more here and has the results to show for it in our domain.
What excites you most about having more time for advocacy/analysis work? It is obvious that aspects of the economic model that has served us fairly well are
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not sustainable. Significant changes in ratios, such as the number of workers to retirees, pose pretty fundamental challenges. Population growth underpinned how we came to behave. In most of the developed world, that tide has turned, and in countries like the US universities are already seeing smaller numbers of native students. With the old
ratios, countries could afford to support science and I believe we became to expect this, and more support, and we became lazy about justifying this support from taxpayers. Fortunately there is growing interest in science policy, but the bottom line is that we can’t afford all the science that the science community wants. I think it is an important time to
develop a better understanding of innovation and to advocate for science. I believe photonics has extraordinary potential to improve lives and save our planet. We can and must contribute strongly to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We need to sustain the momentum, and understanding and advocacy will be key. EO
Visit us at Booth 1739
SPIE.PHOTONICS WEST 30 January to 1 February 2018
We will be demonstrating the capabilities of our new
range of photodetector modules and introducing our high
QE compact photomultipliers.
www.et-enterprises.com December 2017/January 2018 Electro Optics 25
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