New York State is home to hundreds of optics, photonics, imaging, and laser companies with active regional, national, and international collaborations. Giants in industrial optics — Bausch & Lomb, Corning, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox — and the nation’s leading Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester all were founded here.
Together with the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Imaging Science, the College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and the Optical Systems Technology program at Monroe Community College, plus with government-funded manufacturing research partnerships, the New York Photonics (NYP) cluster proudly carries this extraordinary legacy into the future.
New York Photonics is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote and enhance the New York State optics, photonics, imaging, and laser industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government.
The Rochester, NY MSA vs. OPIL Hubs in Major U.S. Metros (>1M population)
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Top 5 for STEM Degrees per Capita |
60% of Total Optics Degrees in the Nation |
#1 for Degrees in Physical Sciences per Capita |
#1 Engineering, Engineering Technologies, and Technicians per Capita |
#1 for Optics Patents per 1,000 Workers |
Top 5 for OPIL Supply Chain & Skilled Workforce (by Location Quotient) |
Regional data prepared by Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE).
NYP members benefit greatly from the wealth of resources made available through the cluster. Regional gatherings, information exchanges, supply-chain synergies, and workforce development collaborations feed our thriving OPIL research and manufacturing ecosystem.
The world’s optics and photonics industry knows our region as the gathering place for conferences and symposia including SPIE Optifab, the only optical fabrication exhibition in the U.S., the U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) conference, and SPIE Laser Damage research conference.
The New York Photonics Board of Directors represent a diverse group of thought leaders from our OPI community, spanning industry, education and not-for-profit sectors. Collectively, our Board has over 200 years of experience in the industry. Each board member serves to further our mission, and yours.
