Murat represented UT Austin in National Photonics Initiative (NPI) Congressional visit on March 25,26. He was one of the 36 volunteers from photonics among a total of nearly 200 volunteers participating in this year’s Science-Engineering-Technology Working Group (SETWG) Congressional Visits Day.

The Congressional Visits Day started with Congressional breakfast hosted by Representative Rush Holt (New Jersey) at the Capitol Hill. Then, the whole Texas delegacy visited Texas Representatives Ted Poe, Roger Williams, John Culberson, and Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and their staff. In these meetings, Murat presented his research to emphasize our lab research impact on biomedical research which have potential to provide many new clinical solutions and enable creative medical treatments as yet unimagined.

The objective of this visit is to urge support from Congress for:

•The bipartisan Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2013 (RAMI), to establish manufacturing institutes known as the Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NMI); the institutes wouldfunction through a public-private partnership between the federal government, local governments, universities, research institutes and industry to accelerate manufacturing innovation in technologies with commercial applications

•Reauthorization of the bi-partisan America COMPETES Act (originally passed in 2007 and expired in December 2013) to ensure American competitiveness in the global marketplace, and adding language specifying photonics to reflect the industry's critical role in the ongoing innovation of many other sectors

 •Establishment of a National Photonics Prototyping and Advance Manufacturing Facility within the Department of Defense's manufacturing mandate, possibly through inclusion of language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA); establishment of such a facility could produce critical defense applications for warfighters, as well as drive new generations of high-tech commercial applications such as a more secure Internet, enhance medical diagnostics, and portable sources of renewable energy.

 The NPI is a collaborative, industry-driven campaign to advance photonics research and funding. Activities concentrate on five key areas: defense and national security, energy, healthcare, communications, and manufacturing.