Industry Overview

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CIAN Industry Overview

The mission of the Industrial Collaboration and Innovation Program (ICIP) is to drive CIAN closer to its research vision by establishing close, mutually beneficial relationships with key industrial partners. These companies will help to realize CIAN's goals by transferring technology from CIAN to the optical communications industry and other associated industries such as aerospace.

Specifically, the ICIP provides:

An industrial voice in Center management
Industrial guidance in the selection and emphasis of research projects
An avenue for technology transfer, and
A path for industrial support of and participation in educational programs, in particular, industrial internships for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The compelling nature of CIAN's vision has already spurred the initial participation of industry leading carriers, system manufacturers and optical component companies, many of whom had influential representatives at our first industrial workshop.

These same companies and others came out in force to support CIAN at the NSF site visit in March 2008 during the ERC evaluation, with both industrial researchers and scientific advisory board members providing compelling arguments for the formation of CIAN.

Industry Features & Benefits

IAB Member Features & Benefits

Features and Benefits

Companies joining CIAN receive a seat on the CIAN Industrial Advisory Board (IAB).
- The IAB strongly influences the Center's strategic direction and research focus by having a leadership role in the evaluation of research projects.
CIAN has an annual budget of $4.9M in federal funding. An IAB company's $25K in annual membership receives 200:1 leverage.
Member companies have opportunities to commercialize CIAN-funded research.
- Center members have an exclusivity period of one year to negotiate license rights to CIAN intellectual property created in Center funded projects.
- Center members have the non-exclusive right to use CIAN developed intellectual property in their in-house research activities.
Membership provides companies with access to CIAN researchers and a worldwide network of photonics and optical networking experts and resources.
- 36 faculty, 12 Fellows of IEEE, OSA, ACM, 4 Academic Chairs/Deans, 3 Chaired professorships
- Center provides fluid engagements with multiple faculty to quickly bring the right combination of academic expertise and facilities to industrial member's specific needs and spawn high impact sponsored projects or collaborative grant applications.
- Access to CIAN testbeds with facilities to measure device performance in aggregation and data center networks.
- Learn about and help shape pre-competitive technology roadmaps by interacting with customers, suppliers and competitors during Center activities and events including workshops and webinars
Membership provides an opportunity to interact with a large number of students with experience and training in optical communication networks and photonic devices who can provide immediate impact to member organizations.
- All CIAN students have systems engineering experience and understand and appreciate the importance of intellectual property.
- Access to the students through CIAN can lower hiring costs, provide opportunities to get to know students before hiring (e.g., internships), and attract top talent from leading Universities within CIAN.
Two "site visit" invitations offer a broader understanding of the research status, accomplishments and capabilities and interests of the researchers and the universities.

To View and Download our Features and Benefits Value Proposition Click Here!

CIAN Testbed Capabilities

Testbed Capabilities

CIAN's main operations are located at The University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences, which provides resources for both theoretical and applied research programs in all areas related to optics and the optical sciences. The center headquarters is on the 5th floor of a new 47,000 square-foot West Wing addition, completed in 2006.

The CIAN Grand Challenge Testbed, located on the campus of UCSD is a shared research facility where CIAN's research from the various Thrusts is integrated, enabling collaborative research among CIAN participants and with the wider research and industrial community.

The primary CIAN testbed consists of 2000 ft2 contiguous lab space and 10 modular test bays including: