The most galling aspect of the breakthrough in optical computing announced by AT&T Bell Laboratories this year for the team led by Professor Desmond Smith at Heriot-Watt University is that four key members at the Bell Labs team did the pioneering work at Heriot-Watt before emigrating to the US. Professor Smith is still crying out for funds to enable his depleted team to keep up with the Bell Labs’ efforts, but there has been little support from British industry or the government. Now US aerospace giant Boeing Co, no doubt seeing advantages in optical computers over electronic ones in aircraft, has come up with $1m funding for Heriot. The Science & Engineering Research Council has promised UKP1m for a collaboration on optical computing at five Scottish universities (CI No 1,358), but Professor Smith reckons another UKP10m is needed for a well-co-ordinated British effort. With its heavy involvement in pioneering fibre optics, why is STC Plc not interested in the British effort?.
