FOSA Presents 2023 Champion of Innovation Award to Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and J.D. Vance (R-OH)

PRESS RELEASE
December 15, 2023
Fiber Optic Sensing Association
Contact: Michael Hines, (860) 993-5627

Fiber Optic Sensing Association Presents 2023 Champion of Innovation Award to Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and J.D. Vance (R-OH)

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA) announced the winners of its annual Champion of Innovation Award. FOSA selected Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) based on their extraordinary leadership in the 118th Congress toward enhancing the safety and security of the U.S. rail system.

Senators Brown and Vance are the original sponsors of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, which makes significant steps to improve railway safety standards across the nation. The bill will greatly enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials by requiring the Secretary of Transportation to develop a program for the research, development, testing, and evaluation of defect detector systems as well as research to understand new or developing technologies.

“The rail network serves as a backbone for the economy, facilitating the efficient movement of goods and resources across vast distances. Safe transport along our nation’s rail infrastructure is crucial for protecting human lives, preserving our environment, and ensuring public well-being,” said FOSA Chairman Paul Dickinson of Dura-Line. “We recognize the vision and leadership of Senator Brown and Senator Vance in both emphasizing the importance of enhancing safety requirements and also promoting the need to evaluate newer technologies to improve upon our legacy systems.”

“This award is a token of our appreciation. We thank Senators Brown and Vance for their leadership and look forward to working with them in the future,” added Paul Baird of Prysmian Group and FOSA Vice Chairman.

Distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS), FOSA’s technology focus, is ideally suited to applications in rail where fiber optic cables running parallel to tracks improve safety through detection of pedestrians, monitoring of freight and passenger traffic, and immediate detection and locational pinpointing of both track and rolling stock defects. To learn more please visit www.fiberopticsensing.org.

ABOUT THE FIBER OPTIC SENSING ASSOCIATION. FOSA is a non-profit organization created in Washington, DC in 2017 with the mission of educating industry, government, and the public on the benefits of fiber optic sensing. Through webinars, videos, white papers, public presentations, and public policy advocacy, the organization provides information on the use of fiber optic sensing to secure critical facilities, enhance public safety, and protect the environment. FOSA Premier Members include: AP Sensing, Corning, CRALEY Group, Ditch Witch, Dura-Line, FEBUS Optics, Fibercore Limited, Graz University of Technology, Hifi Engineering, Luna, NEC Corporation of America, Network Integrity Systems, OFS, OZ Optics, Prysmian Group, SAMM Teknoloji, Senstar, Sensonic, Smartpipe Technologies, Underline, the University of California–Berkeley, and VIAVI Solutions.