Feb. 6, 2015 — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) and Exelis, Inc. (NYSE:XLS) today announced a definitive agreement under which Harris will acquire Exelis in a cash and stock transaction valued at $23.75 per share, or an approximately $4.75 billion enterprise value. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. The...Continue Reading

As the economy continues to recover, economists are seeing stark differences between people with high school and college degrees. Four-year college graduates are nearly twice as likely to have a job compared to Americans who just graduated high school and stopped there. But economists say that doesn’t mean everybody needs a four-year degree. In fact,...Continue Reading

It’s tough to get higher tech than the OptiPro Pro 80 GTS. About the size of a phone booth, with a separate arm holding a control panel covered in buttons, dials and a touchscreen, the machine turns discs of glass into specialized, very precise, very expensive optics. One of those computer-controlled grinders — along with...Continue Reading

Martin Dvorin is Professor emeritus of the Optical Systems Technology Program at a Community College.  He began teaching optics at Monroe Community College, on Alexander Street, in Rochester, NY in 1966. We reprint here a recollection written for us by Marty in 2009, and edited just two months ago. Happy Birthday Marty! In the early 1960’s, the...Continue Reading

Slaughter Has Spearheaded Effort to Secure Transformational Federal Investment Since 2012 Optics and Photonics Support 17,000 Jobs in the Rochester Region ROCHESTER, NY – Today, New York’s Rochester-led consortium was named one of three finalists in the country to compete for a significant federal investment in the region’s signature photonics industry, an initiative that Congresswoman...Continue Reading

From the Rochester Business Journal at   http://www.rbj.net/article.asp?aID=210763 The competition that will award more than $200 million to create a manufacturing institute focused on the photonics industry will be launched soon, and Rochester is a prime candidate, officials announced Friday. The Department of Defense will lead the competition designed to establish a photonics hub, Sen Charles...Continue Reading

Someday your smartphone might be able to help you in a new way when you’re traveling: by telling you whether the water is safe to drink. Although a water app isn’t close yet, researchers at Corning and elsewhere recently discovered that they could use Gorilla Glass, the toughened glass made by Corning that’s commonly used...Continue Reading

The success of the Monroe Community College optics program is a stellar example of industry support and involvement, including cash and material donations and direct student support. While some companies just wring their hands and complain that colleges aren’t producing the workforce they need, the Rochester-area employers offer a shining example of how industry and...Continue Reading

Increased sales in 2014 has Optimax Systems Inc. looking to hire in the new year. While increasing the size of its Ontario, NY facility to 60,000 square feet over the last several years,  the company has also steadily increased the size of its workforce. That trend will continue in 2015 as Optimax looks to hire  about...Continue Reading

Pictometry CONNECTMobile provides access to the highest quality aerial imagery in the world on your Android Tablet or Phone. Pictometry International Corp. is a Henrietta, New York based company that provides detailed aerial photography. Pictometry’s images are taken at a 40 degree angle from low-flying airplanes. Its Electronic Field Study software allows a variety of measurements to...Continue Reading