Additional Backing Will Support Three More Rounds of Optics, Photonics and Imaging Competition Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $15 million in additional funding is being made available to support three more rounds of the Luminate NY business accelerator competition in Rochester. The Luminate competition focuses exclusively on the optics, photonics and imaging industry. The program...Continue Reading

Three outstanding women, two in the optics industry, were honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame as Keepers of the Flame on Monday, December 17. The designees were Dr. Susan Houde-Walter, President and CEO of LaserMaxDefense (LMD), Dr. Alexis Vogt, Associate Professor of Optics at Monroe Community College, and Carol Ritter Wright, former Rochester...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

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

Dimension Technologies Inc. (DTI), conceives and develops innovative optical technologies that add highly desirable and product differentiating features to flat panel displays. These technologies include: autostereoscopic technology that makes 3D images leap out of the screen creating a “WOW” effect for the viewer; and ultra high definition (UHD) projection technology that allows groups to read a...Continue Reading

Toptica has positioned itself at the center of the optics universe, with a Victor office that handles sales, support, service and light manufacturing for its North American clients and a president who holds physics and business degrees from both the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. “We have the best right here in...Continue Reading

Big day of news for our industry yesterday, Manufacturing Day in America! First, At an event to celebrate Manufacturing Day at New York Photonics member EMF Corporation in Ithaca, New York with their Congressman from New York’s 23rd district (which includes Corning), Tom Reed, and OSA CEO Liz Rogan. Congressman Reed deserved the wonderful welcome...Continue Reading

Rochester, New York is bursting with energy, photonic energy! The New York (NYSTAR) MEP Center, aka High Tech Rochester, is a key player in the revitalizing this industry, along with various economic and business development entities in the Rochester region. To strengthen and grow this industry the Rochester region has received three grants; the Advanced...Continue Reading

Letter: Slaughter has led on photonics In reference to the Feb. 2 essay by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (“To fight poverty locally, invest in well-paying jobs”), I applaud the congresswoman’s efforts on behalf of optics and photonics. This is an industry that is highly technical and often not understood by many outside of Rochester, but the...Continue Reading

Top executives, representing different aspects of the marketplace, shared their insight and hard-fought lessons regarding trends and opportunities in optics and photonics. Optimax CEO, Rick Plympton shared 2013 experiences, including strong orders from laser systems, particularly HPL’s, and significant medical and semiconductor business. Plympton shared optimism about what he sees as necessary pruning (sequestration) of...Continue Reading