HISTORY
The Colorado photonics cluster has been steadily growing for several decades. Companies with reliance upon optics and photonics technology have been thriving in Colorado for almost fifty years. Of note are:
- Ball Aerospace began in the late 1950s, focusing on government customers producing space imaging satellites
- IBM Corporation arrived in the early 1960s, focusing on commercial applications such as Lexmark laser printers
November 3, 1997: The Colorado Photonics Industry Association (CPIA) was formed as a Colorado nonprofit corporation. FOUNDING MEMBERS
Early accomplishments:
- The formation of the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center
- The formation of a photonics technician training program
- Supporting the many research grants brought to the state
Ongoing accomplishments:
- CPIA quarterly meetings, featuring speakers on timely topics
- Colorado Corral at SPIE's Photonics West exhibition each year, where a section of the main floor is reserved for Colorado photonics companies
- Industry analysis and directory, updated every 2 years
- Annual awards for outstanding businesses CHECK OUT THE WINNERS
In the past ten years that CPIA has been active
- Over one hundred new photonics based companies have formed in the state
- Photonics employment levels continue to grow
- 3 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Coloradoans, all for photonics related research
- The National Science Foundation has funded the Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology
