Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan began his tenure as director of the National Science Foundation on June 23, following a seven month Senate confirmation process. FYI spoke with Panchanathan shortly after he was sworn in this month by White House science adviser Kelvin Droegemeier, who led the agency on an acting basis after France Córdova completed her...Continue Reading

Three outstanding women, two in the optics industry, were honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame as Keepers of the Flame on Monday, December 17. The designees were Dr. Susan Houde-Walter, President and CEO of LaserMaxDefense (LMD), Dr. Alexis Vogt, Associate Professor of Optics at Monroe Community College, and Carol Ritter Wright, former Rochester...Continue Reading

Rochester Precision Optics (RPO) has announced the appointment of Adam Dunn to Operations Program Manager. Reporting to the Vice President of Operations and working closely with RPO’s engineering and design teams, Adam will manage production and procurement operations to champion project completion and ensure customer success. “Adam’s proven expertise in business development and client acquisition...Continue Reading

Tuesday night, during The Optical Society’s Annual Business Meeting at the 2017 Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FIO + LS) conference in Washington, DC, the Optical Society (OSA) announced that its members have elected Stephen D. Fantone, president and founder of Optikos Corporation, as its 2018 vice president. Three directors-at-large were also chosen during this year’s...Continue Reading

“Though Pasterski herself is a standout, her interest is part of a larger trend of millennials — especially women — graduating with degrees in physics.” Harvard thinks a female 23-year-old Ph.D. candidate may be the next Einstein. At age 23, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski is already one of the most well-known and accomplished physicists in the...Continue Reading

Mike Ognenovski has been named President of Sydor Optics, an OEM manufacturer of high precision, custom plano optics. As President, Ognenovski will have responsibility for overseeing operations, sales and marketing and will report directly to Jim Sydor who is now Chairman. Mike was former Vice President of Operations for Harris Corporation’s Space and Intelligence Systems...Continue Reading

To celebrate the OSA’s 100th anniversary, WiSTEE Connect (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Entrepreneurship) is collaborating with the OSA Foundation to organize an international symposium “Global Women of Light” at the 2016 Frontiers in Optics on 17 October, 2016 in Rochester, NY, US. The program will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency Rochester from...Continue Reading

Webster resident Joseph Serio worked as a gas station attendant in the 1990s, and had no ties to NASA or Mars Rovers. Now he’s a Monroe Community College optics technology student with 20 years of experience manufacturing optics parts for NASA Mars Rovers with Ontario company Optimax. He’s headed to Texas next week to compete...Continue Reading

June 1 – June 12, 2015 The Institute of Optics will offer its 54th annual Summer School short-course series next month. This year’s offering will be a mix of a one-week course and two-and-a-half-day courses. RRPA Grants Available Full scholarships for our Summer School courses are available through a grant from the US Employee and...Continue Reading

Robert L. McCrory was appointed University Professor in recognition of his contributions to the physics and engineering community, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and to the University in general, at an installation ceremony on April 3. McCrory is one of only eight current or retired faculty members who are a University Professor. http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=8662Continue Reading