The Rochester and Finger Lakes region is nearing a decision that could bring up to $160 million in federal funding over the next decade, positioning it as a national hub for optics, photonics, imaging and laser innovation.<\/p>\n
A coalition led by the University of Rochester is one of 15 regions vying to become a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine. The competition has narrowed from nearly\u00a0300 letters of intent<\/a>\u00a0at the start of the program.<\/p>\n Last month, NSF representatives visited the region to assess whether its research institutions, companies and workforce have what it takes to build and scale the cluster. A decision is expected in a few months.\u00a0 The visit marked the final round, with interviews and due diligence assessing risks, resources and the region\u2019s capacity to meet national needs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great visit,\u201d says Thomas Brown, director of the Institute of Optics at URochester. \u201cTheir job is to come and ask lots of hard questions and to really probe to see if we\u2019re ready as a team to handle this scope of a program.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 75 people from the community\u2013from lawmakers to researchers and business representatives\u2013showed up not just in the way of support, but also to illustrate the region\u2019s enthusiasm, capacity and prowess.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent a day and a half with the NSF folks. There was genuine warmth at the end of that,\u201d Brown says. \u201c(I) felt like they genuinely appreciated the effort that we have put in to clearly present our case. And that\u2019s all you can hope for, right?\u201d<\/p>\n The NSF funding would accelerate an existing ecosystem. But even without the award, project leaders say the process of competing for it has already brought universities, companies, and workforce and economic development partners together around a shared strategy.<\/p>\n Engines of innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Science Foundation\u00a0launched<\/a>\u00a0its Regional Innovation Engines program to foster discovery and innovation nationwide, says Sethuraman Panchanathan, former NSF director. It aims to\u00a0 bring together universities, companies and other regional partners to turn research into real-world use and spur economic growth.<\/p>\n Each engine can receive up to $160 million over as many as 10 years to build those regional partnerships and support research, workforce training and business development. The program also includes an earlier planning phase, giving regions time to organize before launching a full-scale effort.<\/p>\n The goal is to boost innovation in parts of the country that haven\u2019t fully benefited from recent technology growth, while helping regions turn research into companies, jobs and investment. That includes building stronger connections among industry, academia and government, supporting new technologies in areas of national importance and creating clearer pathways for workforce training and entrepreneurship. The program is also meant to test a different model\u2014one that moves faster, works across sectors and is designed to translate research into economic impact at scale.<\/p>\n Panchanathan, who visited URochester in 2022 and called it a crucible of innovation, says through the engines program, NSF is investing across the country and harnessing the geography and demography of innovation. He\u00a0stepped down<\/a>\u00a0from his role last April.<\/p>\n A chance to be \u2018Stellar\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In\u00a02023<\/a>, URochester received $1 million, which launched the planning stages for its proposal titled \u201cCatalyzing Upstate New York\u2019s Future in Science, Technology and<\/p>\n Engineering of Laser and Laser Applications Research,\u201d or STELLAR.<\/p>\n \u201cThis would revolutionize Rochester\u2019s tech workforce, creating new programs from technical education at our community colleges for manufacturing careers to helping train the next generation of our nation\u2019s top scientific minds, all while helping attract new employers and creating good-paying jobs,\u201d said Sen. Chuck Schumer when the Phase One award was announced.<\/p>\n STELLAR proposes that it will create the next generation of laser-based systems with new levels of performance, power and precision over the next decade. URochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and the American Center for Optics Manufacturing will serve as anchors for use-case research, informed by market needs. The research will encompass work on developing faster and precise lasers for use in communications, manufacturing, semiconductors and health care, and high-energy laser systems for use in national security, fusion energy, manufacturing and scientific research.<\/p>\n \u201cSTELLAR would empower our expert researchers to collaboratively focus on the frontiers of laser development,\u201d noted Stefan Preble, RIT\u2019s Bausch and Lomb Professor and PhD program director of microsystems engineering, after the NSF visit. \u201cThere is already brilliant research and development underway locally in ultrafast lasers, microchip-scale lasers, lasers for biotechnology and quantum networking using lasers. STELLAR would equip us to conduct even more laser research on a grander scale.\u201d<\/p>\n The fields of advanced manufacturing, eye care, medical and remote sensing, precision measurement and communications technologies are potential use-case scenarios as well.<\/p>\n To translate these innovations for commercial use, STELLAR plans to build on the region\u2019s more than 150 optics, photonics, imaging and laser technology companies. The engine expects to connect economic development with business needs and requirements, using Greater Rochester Enterprise, NextCorps\u2019 Luminate and NY Photonics. STELLAR aims to provide resources to support business growth\u2014from a fledgling venture to a company building for scale.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to be a part of the team as a co-(principal investigator), just getting all of the stakeholders within the region excited and aligned around this,\u201d says Leah George VanScott, executive vice president, business development and strategy at GRE. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really, really cool undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n It is unusual for an economic development professional to be part of an NSF proposal, but that\u2019s the intent of the NSF regional innovation engines program. It asks applicants to consider the various aspects of developing a cross-sector regional coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we walked Photonics West (trade show) this year in California together as a team, we started to have strategic conversations with company executives that are making decisions on where to put their next laser division,\u201d VanScott says.<\/p>\n If the U.S. is serious about investing money in this realm, these companies would pay attention, she maintains.<\/p>\n \u201c(These companies) are telling us that if the U.S. actually shows (a commitment), by putting some money behind it and some skin in the game, that these companies will actually consider the U.S. And they won\u2019t just consider the U.S.\u2014they\u2019ll consider our region because of what we\u2019re trying to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the aim is to attract laser technology startups to the region and helping them grow. That would include expanding programs like Luminate, with more targeted support around manufacturing, supply chains and industry requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. only makes about a third of the lasers used in this country, and that number is shrinking,\u201d said Sujatha Ramanujan, managing director and chief investment officer of Luminate NY, following the NSF visit. \u201cApplications from defense to medical devices to quantum depend on lasers. We are headed to a serious national problem if we don\u2019t close that gap and start making our own lasers.\u201d<\/p>\n STELLAR also aims to make the region more attractive to investors by presenting the optics industry as a coordinated ecosystem, rather than a collection of individual startups. The engine hopes to conduct a comprehensive data analysis to identify technology gaps, applications and models that attract investment. By presenting the ecosystem as a whole, instead of several one-off startups, the project plans to attract investment to the region and create a $100 million venture development firm over three years.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat struck me most was how organically these pieces fit together. Workforce development, economic development, research\u2014they aren\u2019t separate tracks. They\u2019re part of the same story,\u201d says Alexis Vogt, endowed chair and professor of optics at Monroe Community College and executive director of workforce and higher education at AmeriCOM. \u201c You can\u2019t have a thriving laser industry without a skilled workforce, and you can\u2019t build a skilled workforce without robust educational programs tied to real industry needs.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposal has a workforce component, which is Vogt\u2019s expertise, building on partnerships among colleges, employers and community groups in the region. It would bring together institutions such as MCC, Finger Lakes Community College, URochester and RIT into a more coordinated system. The goal is to make it easier for people to find training programs, get support and connect to jobs in the optics and photonics field.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process of putting this proposal together reinforced for me that the Rochester\u2013Finger Lakes region genuinely thinks in those interconnected terms,\u201d Vogt says. \u201cIt also pushed us to be more intentional about who we\u2019re building this workforce for\u2014not as an add-on, but as a core design principle. Thinking about how to reach veterans, rural communities, and the Deaf community wasn\u2019t peripheral to the proposal; it shaped how we thought about the entire workforce component.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan also calls for staff who would help guide job seekers through training options and connect them with employers, as well as closer coordination among the groups already doing that work.<\/p>\n Showcasing an edge<\/strong><\/p>\n VanScott and others pointed out the competition the nation faces if it doesn\u2019t invest in innovation. China, for instance, has been ramping up efforts in emerging laser technologies. Take remote sensing technology\u00a0 LiDAR (light detection and ranging), first developed in the United States, for example. China\u2019s\u00a0Hesai Technology<\/a>\u00a0has become the world\u2019s largest LiDAR maker. While its efforts focus on the automotive industry, the technology\u2019s implications for national security are concerning to some industry watchers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what Asia is pouring money into,\u201d VanScott says. \u201cAnd the federal government right now is focused on the global economic competitiveness with Asia. \u2026 In all fairness, Asia and Europe have put a stake in the ground when it comes to laser and laser technology. The U.S. has not.\u201d<\/p>\n