The Carolinas Photonics Consortium (CPC) Pilot Funding Program is set to award five projects with seed money to support commercialization and business development of light-based technologies. Proposals will be accepted from researchers at the five CPC member institutions: Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.; Duke University in Durham, N.C.; North Carolina State University in Raleigh; the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. The institutions’ substantial photonics programs together have received more than $300 million in state and federal funding over the past five years.

The signing of the CPC Inter-Institutional Agreement took place in June. The consortium will serve as a bridge to move developing technology out of academe and into the regional job market.