08 October 2012

Local Rochester Optics and Photonics Researchers and Companies to be Featured at OSA’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics 2012

PRESS CONTACTS:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org

Keira Shein
WilkinsonShein Communications
410.363.9494
keira@wilkinsonshein.com

Local Rochester Optics and Photonics Researchers and Companies to be Featured at OSA’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics 2012

Innovations from nearly 900 scientific, technical and educational presentations will be highlighted during the Optical Society’s (OSA) 96th Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012, being held Oct. 14 - 18 in Rochester, N.Y. Co-located with Laser Science XXVIII, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Laser Science (DLS), the meeting will cover the breadth of optical science and engineering in five days of cutting-edge content, as well as provide opportunities for networking and scientific exchange. Exhibits featuring leading optics companies, including local Rochester companies G-S Plastic Optics; Glass Fab, Inc.; Mildex; Inc.; Sydor Optics, Inc.; and several others, will complement the in-depth educational programming and offer attendees a glimpse of the latest optics and photonics technologies and products.

Rochester is known as the birthplace of optics and it is where the Optical Society was founded nearly 100 years ago. Local researchers and business leaders feature prominently throughout the diverse technical and business programming at the meeting. Local highlights include a keynote presentation by David R. Williams of the University of Rochester, a special symposium honoring Emil Wolf—one of the university’s most distinguished optics professors, a special address by 2012 Rochester Business Journal’s Tech Woman of the Year, and an intimate conversation with the new president of IDEX Optics and Photonics, Michael Cumbo, an alumnus of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology with deep roots in the area.

WHAT:                 The Optical Society’s Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics 2012

WHERE:               Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, N.Y.

WHEN:                 Sunday, Oct. 14 – Thursday, Oct. 18

FEATURED PROGAMMING WITH LOCAL TIES:

Plenary Session and Awards Ceremony
Oct. 15, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Lilac Ballroom, Rochester Riverside Convention Center

Plenary Presentations:

• Attosecond Photonics:  What we learn by transforming many photons into one
  Paul Corkum, Joint Attosecond Science Laboratory, National Research Council and University of Ottawa, Canada
• History of the Higgs boson and recent discoveries at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
  Alfred T. Goshaw, Duke University, United States
• Imaging Single Cells in the Living Retina
  David R. Williams, University of Rochester, United States

Award Speakers:

• Ultrafast 2-D IR Vibrational Echo Spectroscopy
  Michael D. Fayer, Stanford University, United States
  APS Arthur L. Schawlow Prize Recipient
• Quantum Photocell: Increasing Efficiency via Quantum Coherence
  Marlan O. Scully, Texas A&M, Princeton, and Baylor Universities, United States
  OSA’s Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize Recipient

During the Awards Ceremony, two well-known University of Rochester professors are being honored by OSA: Joseph Eberly will receive the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his service to the optics community and Xi-Cheng Zhang will receive the William Meggers Award for his outstanding work in spectroscopy.

Exhibit Hall

FiO 2012 Exhibition
Oct. 16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Oct. 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Empire Hall, Rochester Riverside Convention Center

FiO’s exhibit show floor features complimentary access to the latest products and innovations from more than 80 participating companies, spanning the optics and laser field. Industry leaders such as Fianium, IDEX Optics & Photonics, the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, Swamp Optics, and Thorlabs will be on hand. Nearly 20 percent of participating companies are based in New York. In addition to hearing the latest industry trends from company representatives in their booths, the exhibit includes educational programming from OSA’s Student Chapters, technical presentations during the FiO Poster Session, and special business programming (noted below).

Technical Presentations
More than 120 papers from New York-based researchers will be presented during FiO, covering a wide range of topics across the entire spectrum of optics and photonics. Paper presentations are divided into nine topical areas in optics, from biology and medicine to information science. Presentations from researchers at New York institutions include:

• Aberration Behavior of a Classical Two-Mirror Telescope in the Presence of Mount Error Using Nodal Aberration Theory, University of Rochester
• Cellular 3-D Imaging of Normal Skin and Non-Melanoma Cancer Skin Using Gabor Domain Optical Coherence Microscopy, University of Rochester
• Deep Subwavelength Focusing of Broad Beam Using Hyperbolic Metamaterial, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Graphene Luminescence from Tunneling Electrons, University of Rochester
• In-Vivo Imaging of Beating Mouse Heart with Multiphoton Microscopy, Cornell University
• Optical Approaches for Controlling Myopia Progression, SUNY College of Optometry
• Optical Imaging and Microscopy of the Living Brain, Columbia University
• Power Efficient Terabit per Second Optical Interconnects, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

Special Events

Town Hall Discussion of U.S. National Academy of Sciences Report: Optics & Photonics: Essential Technologies for Our Nation
Oct. 16, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Empire Hall, Rochester Riverside Convention Center

In August, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on Harnessing Light released a landmark report, Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for Our Nation, discussing the current state of optical sciences and goals for the future. The OSA Public Policy Committee will host a town hall discussion with representatives from the Harnessing Light committee, NAS, and the National Science Foundation, to discuss the need for the report, the findings, as well as current and future global innovations and technological opportunities enabled by optical science. Speakers include:

• • Alan Willner, University of Southern California, Harnessing Light Committee Co-Chair
  • Duncan Moore, University of Rochester, Harnessing Light Committee Member
  • Ed White, Edward White Consulting, Rochester; Harnessing Light Committee Member
  • Larry Goldberg, National Science Foundation
  • Erik Svedberg, National Academy of Sciences
     
• Special Symposia - The Future of Optics: A Perspective at Emil Wolf’s 90th Birthday
  Oct. 14, 4 – 6 p.m.
  Lilac Ballroom, Rochester Riverside Convention Center
  
  The year 2012 marks Emil Wolf’s 90th birthday.  This special symposium will honor Prof. Wolf highlighting his service to the community, OSA, and the University of Rochester. His contribution has left strengthened institutions and vibrant intellectual communities. The symposium will feature distinguished speakers on the future of four areas where Prof. Wolf has made special impact: inverse problems, coherence and quantum optics, physical optics, and optics at the University of Rochester.


• Minorities and Women in OSA (MWOSA) Breakfast
  Oct. 15, 7 – 8 a.m.
  Grand Ballroom A, B, & C, Hyatt Regency Rochester
  
  The Consultant’s Roadmap: How to Start the Journey, Navigate, and Interpret the Important Signs
  Guest Speaker:  Jennifer Kruschwitz, JK Consulting, Rochester, N.Y.
  
  Jennifer Kruschwitz was recently named Rochester Business Journal’s Tech Woman of the Year. Fourteen years ago, she launched herself into the world of self-employment. Throughout the years she has learned a lot about preparing to leave the corporate nest, networking, dealing with difficult people, time management, failure, success, more failure, more success, tax audits, and everything that has to do with keeping one's sanity when self employed. This session will offer tips and insight to help anyone prepare for a similar journey.


• Executive Speaker Series and Reception
  Interview with Michael J. Cumbo, Ph.D., President, IDEX Optics & Photonics
  Oct. 16, 5 – 6 p.m.
  Empire Hall, Rochester Riverside Convention Center
  
  New this year, FiO will host OSA’s Executive Speaker Series, an ongoing, interactive forum offering informal conversation with industry luminaries. This series features top leaders in the optics and photonics field sharing their personal viewpoints in a wide spectrum of topics including career paths, corporate observations and personal perspectives.
  
  This session will feature Michael J. Cumbo, president of IDEX Optics & Photonics (IOP) – which has three business units, one of which is located in Rochester (Semrock). In the early stages of his career, Cumbo served in engineering positions at Bausch & Lomb and Eastman Kodak. He earned a B.S. in physics, an M.S. in optical engineering and a Ph.D. in optics from the University of Rochester, and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology.


• Science Educators’ Day (EDAY)
  Oct. 17, 5 – 8 p.m.
  Lilac Ballroom, Rochester Riverside Convention Center
  
  This annual event focuses on effective and innovative approaches to science education, with an emphasis on hands-on, interactive classroom lessons. EDAY 2012 presents:
  
  The Optics Suitcase Classroom Demonstration Kit
  Guest Speaker: Stephen D. Jacobs, University of Rochester
  
  In 1999, Jacobs and the Rochester OSA Local Section developed the Optics Suitcase---a terrific demonstration kit that includes experiments that teach about optics in a fun, hands-on atmosphere. Since its introduction, the Optics Suitcase program has benefited thousands of students around the world through lessons in polarization, diffraction, selective reflection and “theme packets” that contain the individual experiment for students to take home to share with their friends and family. During this session, Jacobs will showcase the kit’s lessons and demonstrations.

PRESS REGISTRATION: A press room for credentialed press and analysts will be located in the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Sunday through Thursday, Oct. 14-18. Those interested in obtaining a press badge for FiO should contact OSA's Lyndsay Meyer at 202.416.1435 or lmeyer@osa.org.

About the Meeting

Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012 is the Optical Society’s (OSA) 96th Annual Meeting and is being held together with Laser Science XXVIII, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Laser Science (DLS). The two meetings unite the OSA and APS communities for five days of quality, cutting-edge presentations, fascinating invited speakers and a variety of special events spanning a broad range of topics in optics and photonics—the science of light—across the disciplines of physics, biology and chemistry. FiO 2012 will also offer a number of Short Courses designed to increase participants’ knowledge of a specific subject in the optical sciences while offering the experience of insightful teachers. An exhibit floor featuring leading optics companies will further enhance the meeting. More information at www.FrontiersinOptics.org.

About OSA

Uniting more than 180,000 professionals from 175 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.