Strengthening U.S. leadership in laser technologies and manufacturing 

Today, light-based systems and lasers contribute an estimated $16 trillion to the global economy. Manufacturing, metrology, communications, health, and security already depend on the design, engineering, production, and distribution of lasers, while increasingly complex systems require next-generation lasers to achieve necessary levels of productivity and security.

Despite this strategic importance, the U.S. laser ecosystem remains fragmented across research, technology development, manufacturing, and workforce training. This fragmentation slows the transition of breakthroughs from laboratory to market, limits domestic manufacturing scale, and constrains workforce readiness. No single institution, sector, or short-term funding mechanism can address these challenges in isolation.

The NSF STELLAR Engine in the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region of New York is uniquely suited to overcome these barriers. Through its integrated pillars of use-inspired research and development, translation of breakthrough research to impact, and education and workforce development, STELLAR is aligning regional assets into a coordinated, long-term innovation network. This NSF-backed approach strengthens sustained collaboration across academia, industry, government, and workforce partners to accelerate the development, commercialization, and domestic manufacturing of next-generation laser technologies critical to U.S. economic leadership and national security.

The NSF Engine’s key partners include the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics and Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), Monroe Community College (MCC), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), NextCorps Luminate, Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE), AmeriCOM, and New York State.