It’s popular!  It has already gone global! We handed out nearly 250 calendars, large and small,  at the New York Photonics booth in the Photonics West New York Aisle this year. Industry folks and customers around the world love to get their hands on this calendar. Thank you to all of the sponsors for their support of...Continue Reading

In August, Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter and Gov. Andrew Cuomo designated Rochester as headquarters for a $650 million integrated photonics startup, AIM Photonics. The intent of the institute is to design and build computer chips that use light (photons), rather than electronics (electrons), wherever possible. The technology has broad transformational potential...Continue Reading

  ROCHESTER, NY, September 17th. 2015 – The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster/New York Photonics (RRPC) today honored three leaders in education and business for their contributions to New York’s Optics and Photonics Industry. RRPC Executive Director Tom Battley joined past years’ award winners to present the awards in front of more than 300 representatives from industry, government...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...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

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

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...Continue Reading

$100 Million. This is the largest single federal investment in apprenticeship ever in the U.S. Its aim is to transform our workforce for the 21st century. Through this grant, the Department of Labor will expand apprenticeships from the traditional skilled trades to new high-tech, high-demand industries like healthcare, IT, advanced manufacturing, and others. These grants will help...Continue Reading

“If China shuts off the flow of glass, the United States will be out of drones in six months.” – CEO of a critical components contractor to the DoD It was anticipated and heavily lobbied for.  Does it look like anyone expected? On Monday, June 2nd, the Department of the Air Force, through Air Force...Continue Reading