RRPC Newsletter

October 2005, issue 16

Photonics Roadmap: the Next Phase
Collaboration Continues with RIT CIMS
On September 15th RIT CIMS hosted a focus group of eight RRPC member companies to discuss the Roadmap Initiative study of the Optics and Imaging cluster in Upstate New York.  The session focused principally on the cluster’s need for competitive intelligence, such as industry trend analysis and target market research, to access new markets.  A collaboration framework that will aggregate company needs and utilize regional knowledge sources was explored. RRPC and CIMS will be working together in the coming weeks to solidify this framework and launch a pilot "competitive intelligence-generating" project.

What does this mean for you and your company? If you are a member of New York State's Photonics Industry, RIT CIMS may become a research tool for identifying competitive advantages that can add to your bottom line.

Photonics North Wrap-up

Mixed reports from up North. Some exhibitors had breakthroughs with new customers, while others felt that the traffic was light and OEM's underrepresented. An informal survey suggested that people thought that the technical symposia were excellent. There were a greater number of exhibitor participants, 238, than Ottowa last year. Total technical attendees: 356. Total exhibit visitors: 226.

Photonics North will be held next in Quebec City, April 5 - 8 June 2006.

Workforce Training
MCC Steps Up
RRPC Members Bob Novak (MCC), Rick Plympton (Optimax), Joe Lobozzo (JML Optical), and Rick Nasca (Corning/Tropel) have been engaged at Monroe Community College working on the curriculum for Optical Technicians. The updates include an analysis of the Optician Career Path, with augmentations to the optician training program that include elective CNC experience at MCC's Applied Technology Center. The moves are in response to an industry where optical fabricators are increasingly called upon to work with automated deterministic polishing machinery with CNC interfaces built by companies such as Optipro and QED.
Design Innovation Seminar
Wednesday, October 12, 1:00-4:00 pm
Xerox Auditorium, Gleason Bldg. RIT

Join students and faculty for two world-class speakers and stimulating discussion on the topic of design innovation – the critical role of design in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Link here.
Worldwide Events

16 - 20 October 2005
Frontiers in Optics/Laser Science XXI
OSA 89th Annual Meeting
Tuscon, AZ, USA

2326 October 2005

Optics East
Boston,  MA  USA

14 -17 November 2005
Fall National SBIR/STTR Conference
Albany, NY

21 - 26 January 2006
Photonics West
San Jose, CA

11 - 16 February 2006
Medical Imaging
San Jose, CA

17 - 21 April 2006
Defense & Security Symposium
Orlando, FL

Local OSA Chapter Meetings

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - 6:45 pm
RIT, Carlson Center for Imaging Science Auditorium

Vitor Schneider - Corning, Inc.
Selected Topics in Integrated Optics


Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - 7:00 pm
UR, Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging

Steven Buratto -
Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSB
Nanoscale Photophysics of Organic Semiconductors Probed by Near-Field Optics and Single Molecule Spectroscopy
Contact RRPC

The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster is an active and growing collaborative organization. Efforts are under way on joint training events, workforce development, collaborative advertising opportunities, promoting the commercialization of intellectual property, and development of our website to further facillitate business development for our members.

Join us! There are advantages to working together, and we are interested in working with you. Send an email to us at membership@rrpc-ny.org.

To subscribe, to unsubscribe, to submit a news item or upcoming event, to suggest a feature or column, or to offer feedback, contact Tom Battley, at 585-329-4029.

Click here to go to the archived version of this, or any of our previous Newsletters.


How Big is a Big Optic?
News of the Big from North Wales
A £1million state-of-the-art optical polishing machine that will help scientists to build the next generation of telescopes has been installed at Technium OpTIC in North Wales. The machine will enable users to polish perfect optical segments of up to one metre in diameter. Link to the story here.

News of the Big from Lexington Avenue
The team at Advanced Glass have been busy lately. In addition to installing new larger volume annealing furnaces, and their usual extraordinary glass business, they have been polishing the edges of an extremely large optic. 4300 lbs., 73 inches in diameter, and 12 inches thick Valued at around $400,000, this piece of glass is for an un-named customer.

SBIR = $$$
Creative Minds and Financially Astute Entrepreneurs Take Advantage of SBIR/STTR
Each year, 11 federal departments and agencies are required to reserve a portion of their R&D funds for award to small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBIR/STTR funds high-risk projects at the earliest stages of technology development - before companies can attract venture capital - and helps companies commercialize technology, products, and services.
Awards are generally up to $100,000 for phase I (exploring the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology) and up to $750,000 for phase II (R&D, prototype development, and evaluating commercialization potential). New York companies were awarded $62 million of SBIR/STTR funds (224 awards) in the most recent year available.
NYSTAR offers 50% Discount on Albany Conference Fee  
NYSTAR is offering a 50 percent discount off the $350 registration fee to the National SBIR/STTR conference in Albany, NY, on November 14-17, 2005. At this conference, startup and existing high-tech companies can learn about the SBIR/STTR Program and what it takes to win part of the $2+ billion in annual funding.
NYSTAR Scholarship Eligibility   
To qualify for a NYSTAR scholarship the applicant must be a New York State company with fewer than 500 employees, individually-owned and operated by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. A NYS company is a for-profit enterprise with a permanent place of business located in New York employing a full-time workforce. The total number of scholarships is limited and only one will be awarded per company.
Scholarships are available in three tiers:   
1. Companies that are affiliated with or referred by a NYSTAR award recipient and have not previously won an SBIR/STTR award. Apply anytime but they are encouraged to apply by
Sept. 1 to maximize likelihood of a scholarship.
2. Companies that are affiliated with or referred by a NYSTAR award recipient and have previously won only a Phase I SBIR/STTR award. Apply anytime after September 1.
3. Any NYS company, researcher or inventor that is affiliated or referred by a NYSTAR award recipient. Apply anytime after October 1.For more information contact one of the NYSTAR representatives listed here. Complete Agenda available on the Conference Web site.Open SBIR Opportunities:

--NSF 12/8/05
--DoD.3 10/14/05
--DOE 12/2/05
Solicitations are available to search here
Company News

Kate Flanagan Joins EMF Corp as Sales Engineer and Manager of the Rochester office. Kate brings with her over 12 years of technical and consultative sales, marketing and new business development experience in North America and Canada.  Kate specializes in Engineering Management and Liaison experience. Formerly with Element K and Sprints Data Division, Kate has also consulted in sales and marketing in other industries.
 
Kate graduated from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts.   She has additional certifications with Cisco Systems and education in E-Business and Management. She is continuing her post graduate education in Management, Marketing, and Optics at both RIT and University of Rochester.


Thursday, September 22nd, at UNYTECH05, the third annual venture forum, Sydor Instruments (SI) won Most Innvoative Business Model. These people keep winning awards.

SI also announced that it appointed Paul Roehrenbeck as Director of Sales and Marketing. Roehrenbeck has had more than 20 years' experience in the optics and photonics industries, including more than 12 years of high-speed camera marketing as streak camera product manager at Hamamatsu Photonic Systems, and as Business Development Manager at the Center for Advanced Technology in Ultrafast Photonics at the City University of New York.


Over the summer, Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. (M-Flex) acquired Applied Optics, a subsidiary of Applied Image Group Inc. (Rochester, NY) that designs and manufactures optical and photonic imaging technology, for approximately $6.3 million in cash.
M-Flex said it will operate the business as a wholly owned subsidiary under the name Aurora Optical Inc. and that it expects to hire the employees of Applied Optics and to continue to manage the business in its existing facility in Tucson, Arizona. Didn't seem to hurt the M-Flex stock price either.

 


Copyright 2005, Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, Inc.

The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC) is a non-profit organization founded in 1999
to promote and enhance the region’s photonics, optics and imaging industry
by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government.