News & Events

A Hodoscope is an instrument used to determine the trajectory of charged particles. It’s built out of a three-dimensional matrix of particle detectors – either PIN diodes or Geiger tubes – arranged in such a way that particles can be traced along coincident detectors, revealing their trajectory. Artist Inadvertently Builds Hodoscope | Hackaday.Continue Reading

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope say they have been watching the same star blow itself to smithereens in a supernova explosion over and over again, thanks to a trick of Einsteinian optics. The star exploded more than nine billion years ago on the other side of the universe, too far for even the Hubble to see without special help from the cosmos. In this case, however, light rays from the star...Continue Reading

In celebration of the International Year of Light (#IYOL15, #ROCtheIYOL), NYPhotonics member Navitar sponsored the donation of 2500 polarizing slides for the upcoming “Wonders of Orion” planetarium show at the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Strasenburgh Planetarium.   Navitar, Inc. supplies custom projection optics for planetariums around the world. As part of the International Year of Light, the Strasenburgh Planetarium has chosen “the polarizing effect” and The Crab Nebula. In the late 1940’s and...Continue Reading

What is really astounding (to anyone that has ever used Photoshop) is the viral nature of the argument about the blue dress.  Is it blue, or is it white?  The real answer of course is, “Who cares?”  But since the subject has caught the attention of millions, the scientists have to step in.  After all, IT’S OPTICS! The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress...Continue Reading

Did you know that the stunning lights of aurora borealis are the result of solar wind? Or that every CD and DVD player contains a tiny laser? Or that some people can trick their brains to see “impossible” colors? Fascinating, right? It’s this fascination with light and an unquenchable interest in researching new concepts that has made the Rochester region a light, imaging and optical technologies worldwide hub. The United...Continue Reading

Advancements in aspheric lens design and manufacturing, high quality sensors, imaging software, fiber-optic data transmission, and display technology have made citizen jounalism possible. #IYOL15Continue Reading

If you missed this presentation at Photonics West, SPIE’s Steven Anderson and his staff have been busy digging deeper. http://www.newyorkphotonics.org//pdf/PW15%20Anderson%20_%20Breakfast%20%20_%20Final.pdfContinue 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 million in total research expenditures for 2013. About 53.9 percent of the research expenditures at...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 Dudley, steering committee chair for the International Year of Light says in his forward, “The...Continue Reading

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 transaction is expected to close in June 2015 and is subject to customary closing conditions,...Continue Reading