The work is a significant step toward realizing a new generation of ultra-compact, low-energy-use computers capable of complex mathematical computation. Computers are an indispensable part of our daily lives, and the need for ones that can work faster, solve complex problems more efficiently, and leave smaller environmental footprints by minimizing the required energy for computation...Continue Reading

PhD student Katie Dunn prepares samples for imaging cells using a quantitative phase microscope. “I feel like I’m part of a unique community” at the Institute of Optics, she says. (University of Rochester / J. Adam Fenster) Two New Awards will Help the University of Rochester Prepare a More Diverse Pipeline of Optics Professionals. Two...Continue Reading

Cornell Engineering assistant professors Peter McMahon, Francesco Monticone and Atieh Moridi are among the 32 researchers selected from more than 220 applicants to receive Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) awards, which support early-career scientists and engineers. The Young Investigator Program is a highly competitive early-career award program recognizing prior academic achievement...Continue Reading

Systems engineer manufacturer repurposed 43,000 square-foot facility will create almost 60 new jobs in the Town of Henrietta. Investment complements “Finger Lakes Forward” – the region’s comprehensive strategy to revitalize communities and grow the economy. Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that systems engineer manufacturer Precision Optical Transceivers (Precision OT) is growing its Monroe County operations,...Continue Reading

Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and mixed reality (MR) have rapidly become buzzwords, leading to a lot of experimentation and excitement about future applications. While the technologies are often lumped together, it is important to note the clear distinctions in underlying technologies and use cases. Of the group, AR has the...Continue Reading

The SPIE Graduate Fellowship will support PhD students in optics and photonics at the university’s Institute of Optics. SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and the University of Rochester have announced the establishment of the SPIE Graduate Fellowship in Optical Sciences and Engineering. The $500,000 gift from the SPIE Endowment Matching Program will be matched...Continue Reading

Two new Rochester fellows of the National Academy of Inventors take aim. The most efficient photovoltaic cells used for solar power cost up to $50,000 per square meter. What if these cells could be replaced with a plastic solar concentrator less than 3 mm thick that concentrates sunlight 500 times at only $100 per square...Continue Reading

Department of Defense MII partnership creates US workforce development tool to teach students about silicon photonics. Integrated photonics has been identified by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as “a critical technology for both national and economic security.” The DoD further notes that the development of a skilled workforce needed to make integrated photonics commercially...Continue Reading

Thursday, Feb. 3 9:45am – 5:00pm EST Presented by the State University of New York (SUNY), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) You are invited to take part in this online workshop focusing on the challenges in the education and workforce development pipeline for current and future microelectronics manufacturing and design...Continue Reading

Voyant Photonics announced that it raised $15.4M in Series A led by UP.Partners with participation of earlier investors LDV Capital and Contour Ventures. Voyant’s LiDAR system, containing thousands of optical components fabricated on a single semiconductor chip, enables its customers to integrate an effective and exponentially more scalable LiDAR system than possible to date. LiDAR is a...Continue Reading