Rochester Institute of Technology researcher leading a three-year study on precision quantum sensing funded by a $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Navy’s Office of Naval Research, officials announced Wednesday. Research underway at RIT advances a new kind of sensing technology that captures data with better precision than currently possible and promises cheaper,...Continue Reading

University at Buffalo researcher Paras Prasad, an internationally recognized expert in optics and photonics, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction accorded by the organization to academic researchers who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that...Continue Reading

Contestants will hone pitching skills to gain backing for new photonics products Semi-finalists have been named in the annual SPIE Startup Challenge, where new entrepreneurs pitch their light-based technology products to a panel of venture capitalists and business development experts. Semi-final and final rounds are held at SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco in February,...Continue Reading

The world’s first entirely light-based memory chip to store data permanently has been developed by material scientists at Oxford University in collaboration with scientists at Karlsruhe, Munster and Exeter. The device, which makes use of materials used in CDs and DVDs, could help dramatically improve the speed of modern computing. Today’s computers are held back...Continue Reading

A SUNY Polytechnic Institute nanotechnology center has been awarded $9.2 million over 10 years. The money is being offered through the state’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation, or NYSTAR. It will go toward commercialization, education and outreach of the university’s nanoelectronics and nanomaterials center in Albany, New York. http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2015/09/23/suny-poly-nanotech-center-awarded-9-2m.htmlContinue Reading

Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior. Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave...Continue Reading

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany was No.1 in the country for research expenditures funded by business in fiscal year 2013. That’s according to a report out last week from the National Science Foundation. The nanocollege received $201.6 million in research and development expenditures from business, a piece of the college’s $374.2...Continue Reading

SPIE is sharing a very special book that celebrates light this year at Photonics West 2015. 2015 was designated the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies by the United Nations and UNESCO in late 2013. (IYOL) The SPIE published book, Celebrating Light, 50 Ways Light-based Technologies Enrich Our World, is a must-have. As John...Continue Reading

Super-hydrophobic properties could lead to applications in solar panels, sanitation and as rust-free metals Scientists at the University of Rochester have used lasers to transform metals into extremely water repellent, or super-hydrophobic, materials without the need for temporary coatings. Super-hydrophobic materials are desirable for a number of applications such as rust prevention, anti-icing, or even...Continue Reading

Universal Photonics, manufacturer and distributor of critical surface preparation materials worldwide, has announced the asset acquisition of California based, CV Nanotechnology. The acquisition transfers the production, sale, and distribution of CV Nanotechnology’s full product line of polishing compounds and surface preparation materials to Universal Photonics. “UPI continues to make commitments to the advancement of surfacing...Continue Reading