On the Road To Ubiquity – US National Science Foundation

nsf.gov – National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries – On the road to ubiquity – US National Science Foundation (NSF).

As a tool, the laser has stretched the imaginations of countless scientists and engineers, making possible everything from stunning images of celestial bodies to high-speed communications. Once described as a “solution looking for a problem,” the laser powered and pulsed its way into nearly every aspect of modern life.

One area in particular, data transmission, gained momentum as the 1980s progressed. NSF’s Lightwave Technology Program in its engineering directorate was critical not only because the research it funded fueled the Internet, mobile devices and other high-bandwidth communications applications, but also because many of the laser advances in this field drove progress in other disciplines.An important example of this crossover is optical coherence tomography (OCT). Used in the late 1980s in telecommunications to find faults in miniature optical waveguides and optical fibers, this imaging technique was adapted by biomedical researchers in the early 1990s to noninvasively image microscopic structures in the eye. The imaging modality is now commonly used in ophthalmology to image the retina. NSF continues to fund OCT research.As laser technology matured through the 1990s, applications became more abundant. Lasers made their way to the factory floor (to cut, weld and drill) and the ocean floor (to boost signals in transatlantic communications). The continued miniaturization of lasers and the advent of optical fibers radically altered medical diagnostics as well as surgery.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Event Calendar

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
6
7
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
8:00 AM - SBIR Road Tour
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
29
30
1
Summer Short Course Series
06/04/2018 - 06/15/2018    
All Day
The summer short series is a of collection short courses ranging from fundamentals to advanced topics in optical science and engineering. The courses are for [...]
Glass Cartel Night At The Ballpark
06/05/2018    
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Save the Date: Annual Spring Cartel Event A baseball game of course When: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 6-9 PM Where: Frontier Field, Rochester, NY Invites [...]
Meet  Congressional Candidate, Assembly Majority Leader Joseph D. Morelle
06/08/2018    
8:30 am - 10:00 am
The RRPC is pleased to announce a meet and greet with Congressional Candidate Mr. Joe Morelle who will host a light breakfast at Lumetrics Inc. [...]
Cluster Networking At Harris Beach
06/12/2018    
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  Join Alan Winchester , Leader of Harris Beach Cybersecurity Protection and Response Practice Group Learn What To Do if You Are Hacked and How [...]
SBIR Road Tour
06/18/2018    
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
The SBIR Road Tour is coming to Rochester, NY on Monday, June 18, 2018, to present non-dilutive technology funding opportunities provided through the Small Business [...]
Light Tomorrow with Today
On June 28th, 2018, the inaugural cohort of Luminate will participate in an exciting Demo Day event in the Big Tent of the Xerox Rochester [...]
Events on 06/04/2018
Summer Short Course Series
4 Jun 18
Rochester
Events on 06/05/2018
Events on 06/12/2018
Events on 06/18/2018
SBIR Road Tour
18 Jun 18
Rochester
Events on 06/28/2018
Light Tomorrow with Today
28 Jun 18
Rochester

Event Details & Registration

View Events

About Us

New York Photonics is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote and enhance the New York State optics, photonics and imaging industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government.

Archives

Past Newsletters