From Tom Battley, Executive Director of New York Photonics Excerpted from the October 22nd edition of The Hill I am writing in response to Rep. Louise Slaughter’s  Oct. 10 op-ed, “Advancing American competitiveness by harnessing the power of light.” In New York, home of the imaging “Capital of the World,” researchers, engineers and technicians are...Continue Reading

Last week Rochester once again demonstrated its importance in the optics and photonics global economy by hosting the SPIE Optifab meeting — North America’s largest exhibition of optical manufacturing and testing equipment and technology. Sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and co-sponsored by the APOMA (American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association), the...Continue Reading

Even during a government hostage crisis, Representative Louise Slaughter, New York’s 25th, gets it about the National Photonics Initiative Kodak. Xerox. Bausch & Lomb. Over the course of the 20th century, these “big three” companies have made America — and more specifically Rochester, N.Y. — the optics, photonics, imaging and display (OPID) capital of the...Continue Reading

240 stakeholders converged at the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Riedman Gallery on September 10 to interact with industry experts and thought leaders in a conversation about the National Photonics Initiative. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, representative 25th district, New York cohosted the meeting. Slaughter’s opening remarks emphasized Rochester’s leading role in optics, photonics and imaging for...Continue Reading

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY 25th District) and Exelis Geospatial Systems Precision Optics have announced a $2 million technology investment with the University of Rochester. The investment was secured by Slaughter and will fund optics polishing work by Exelis and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics using equipment manufactured in Rochester. article here  Continue Reading

Science and engineering (S&E) employment in the United States is geographically concentrated in a small number of states and several major metropolitan areas within those states, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The three most populous states—California, Texas, and New York—together accounted for more than one-fourth of all...Continue Reading

The “average person, or average congressman” doesn’t know much about photonics, according to a coalition of industry and academic groups pushing a National Photonics Initiative. Part of the problem could easily be the name, said Thomas Koch, dean of the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences, who hosted a push for greater recognition at...Continue Reading

Albany Underwrites Economic Development Expansion of Nanotech Efforts West of Albany Gannett, Sunday, August 18, 2013: The ambition of Cuomo and Kaloyeros comes at a time when upstate New York continues to try to find its footing after decades of manufacturing decline. In June, 43,453 fewer people were employed in New York than in June...Continue Reading

The National Photonics Initiative: What Is Rochester’s Role? Co-hosted with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Representative, 25th District, New York RRPC Annual Meeting Thursday September 5, 2013 Rochester Museum & Science Center 3:30 – 6:30 PM (3:00 PM registration) $45 per person click here to register Following the release last year of Optics & Photonics: Essential Technologies...Continue Reading

“Matteson points out that there were four significant changes among four different chiefs between 1988 and 2012: Chandler bought Sterling Drug in 1988 to leverage the chemical wing by moving into pharma; Fisher said he could make digital cameras a success; Dan Carp touted a global model that pushed digital cameras but reemphasized the legacy...Continue Reading