CORNING, N.Y, Feb. 15 -- Corning Inc. has reported that it will partner with British Telecommunications (BT) on researching photonics technology. As part of the process of establishing this research partnership, Corning has acquired BT's Photonics Technology Research Center (PTRC) -- located at BT's Adastral Park in Martlesham, Suffolk, UK -- for approximately $66 million.According to Charles W. Deneka, Corning's chief technology officer and executive vice president for science and technology, the company expects the integration of the PTRC research portfolio into Corning's technology and product development efforts to lead to increased commercialization of new products in the short term, and to long-term improvements in research on the next generation of photonic components and network devices. The synergy derived from the work being conducted at the PTRC with that at Corning Lasertron, an industry leader in laser manufacturing, will further advance Corning's rapid development and manufacture of low cost lasers and packaging for use in optical amplifiers, Deneka said.