{"id":16,"date":"2025-06-25T12:27:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:stellarlasers.org\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T16:24:17","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stellarlasers.org\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About Us<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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STELLAR<\/mark> <\/mark>has developed ’10x Grand Challenges’ to supercharge our region’s capacity for laser-based innovation.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Over the next 10 years, our Grand Challenges aim to begin the restoration of US investment in lasers through education and workforce development, use-inspired research and development (R&D), entrepreneurship, supply chain, and industry growth for lasers and laser applications. This integrated ecosystem holds the key to US competitiveness in global markets, catalyzing the growth of allied technologies and enabling the advancement of critical industries, including defense, space, networking and communications, advanced and edge computing, semiconductors, data centers, additive manufacturing, fusion energy, medical devices and life sciences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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STELLAR <\/mark>vision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To achieve strategic independence in laser technologies while revitalizing the workforce and infrastructure
for domestic laser manufacturing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our Leadership<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Our Advisory Board<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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STELLAR <\/mark>mission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create and grow an ecosystem in the Rochester, NY \/ Finger Lakes region that advances the science, technology and engineering of lasers to provide US-based sources of next-generation lasers for scientific, industrial, manufacturing, energy, biomedical, and national security applications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rationale for the Engine Model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The US faces an urgent call for strategic independence in critical technologies while it revitalizes domestic manufacturing, in order to ensure national independence for critical supply chains. To build the greatest economy in history, the US must lead the world both in emerging industries and rapidly evolving technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. Increasingly complex systems require next-generation lasers to achieve necessary levels of productivity and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ROC\/FLX region is a recognized center with an internationally unique combination of Optical science and engineering, and integrated Photonics and Imaging (OPI). These strengths position the ROC\/FLX region to include lasers and their applications in our existing light-based technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these advantages, the US 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Regional Innovation Engine model is uniquely suited to overcome these barriers. Through its integrated pillars of use-inspired research and development, translation of innovations to impact, and education and workforce development, STELLAR will align regional assets into a coordinated, long-term innovation system. This Engine approach enables sustained collaboration across academia, industry, government, and workforce partners to accelerate the development, commercialization, and domestic manufacturing of next-generation laser technologies critical to US economic leadership and national security.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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R&D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

use-inspired research and development<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Innovation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

translation of innovations to impact<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Workforce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

education and workforce development<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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OUR REGION<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rationale for the ROC \/ FLX Region<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Greater Rochester \/ Finger Lakes, NY, region is a world leader for optics, photonics, imaging, and laser technologies. From fusion energy to semiconductors to satellites and sensor systems, the foundation of critical US technologies is all developed here. This expertise and innovative spirit are part of the region\u2019s DNA enabling more than 150 smart, forward-thinking companies to achieve success. The innovations created here are felt everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top-tier talent, leading-edge research and development, and one of the most sophisticated, highly integrated supply chains in the nation make the Greater Rochester \/ Finger Lakes, NY, one of the most strategic locations to study, design, and manufacture the next generation of light-based technologies. It\u2019s no wonder industry leaders like L3Harris, Corning, Optimax, EvolvOptic, MKS Instruments, VIAVI Solutions, Bausch + Lomb, and CooperVision all chose to expand here.\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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View our Region of Service<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STELLAR has developed ’10x Grand Challenges’ to supercharge our region’s capacity for laser-based innovation. Over the next 10 years, our Grand Challenges aim to begin the restoration of US investment in lasers through education and workforce development, use-inspired research and development (R&D), entrepreneurship, supply chain, and industry growth for lasers and laser applications. This integrated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-with-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout Us - STELLAR Lasers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how STELLAR Lasers, an NSF Regional Innovation Engine in Rochester, NY, and the Finger Lakes Region is advancing US-based laser technology through use-inspired R&D, workforce development and education, and translation of innovations to impact.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stellarlasers.org\/index.php\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About Us - STELLAR Lasers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how STELLAR Lasers, an NSF Regional Innovation Engine in Rochester, NY, and the Finger Lakes Region is advancing US-based laser technology through use-inspired R&D, workforce development and education, and translation of innovations to impact.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stellarlasers.org\/index.php\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"STELLAR Lasers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T16:24:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/stellarlasers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/NSF-Engines-Program-1000x600-1-edited.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stellarlasers.org\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stellarlasers.org\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/\",\"name\":\"About Us - 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