Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster Previews

Rochester, NY August 11, 2012

On September 10, the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster will bring optics industry experts Paul McManamon and Steve Anderson to present research on the current state and opportunities in optical science in the United States. The event marks the release of the 2012 update to the 1998 ?Harnessing Light? report, commissioned from the National Research Council by the U.S. Congress. Both the 1998 and 2012 report are based on research and insights from leading optics experts, and are key to defining economic policy in countries around the world.

Germany, which relied heavily on the 1998 report to guide its investment in optics as critical technology across all industry sectors, credits the Optics industry with much of its economic growth and stability in recent times.

RRPC Executive Director Tom Battley says, ?We?re excited to host these globally-recognized thought leaders as they share research that will help Rochester and New York State define the blueprint for economic growth. Rochester is recognized as a global leader in Optics, and this report is key to maintaining our competitive advantage.?

Rochester is well represented in the 2012 report, with contributions from Dr. Duncan T. Moore, Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Optical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Dr. Waguih S. Ishak, Division Vice President & Director, Corning Incorporated, and Edward White of Edward White Consulting, formerly GM of Kodak?s Optical Products Business Unit and VP Commercial Imaging Group.

Local business and economic development leaders are encouraged to attend. Speakers Paul McManamon and Steve Anderson will join local Optics industry leaders to discuss how technical opportunities brought about by recent scientific advances can shape our region.

The RRPC / New York Photonics Annual Meeting will be held at the Rochester Museum & Science Center on Monday, September 10, 2012 from 3:00 ? 5:00 pm. Register to attend at RRPC?s Event Website.

For more about the report and the activities leading up to its release: http://www.harnessingminds.org/

About the Speakers:

Paul McManamon is past-president of SPIE. He is the technical director of the Ladar and Optical Communications Institute, LOCI, at the University of Dayton. He is a Fellow of SPIE, AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory, IEEE, and OSA and a Past President of SPIE. He is also a Fellow of the Military Sensing Symposia. Dr. McManamon?s technical areas include electro-optical and microwave sensor development, electron device development, automatic target recognition as well as avionics systems, contents and simulation. McManamon retired from his U.S. Air Force career as Chief Scientist, Sensors Directorate, Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 2008. He is co-chair of the committee for Harnessing Light II.

Steve Anderson Photonics industry expert and former Laser Focus World Editor-in-Chief Steve Anderson joined the staff of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics in July, 2011. Anderson serves as Industry and Market Strategist for SPIE, and is based near Washington, D.C. Anderson joined PennWell Corporation's Laser Focus World in 1993, and he has been leader of a highly regarded laser market seminar co-located with SPIE Photonics West. Prior to joining PennWell, he was Marketing Manager at Spectra-Physics in Europe and the U.S. for 15 years. Anderson continues to serve on the Laser Focus World Editorial Advisory Board.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 180,000 constituents from 168 countries, the Society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent and career and professional growth. SPIE annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions and education programs in North America, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. SPIE provided over $ 2.3 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2010.

About RRPC

The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC) (http://www.newyorkphotonics.org) is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote and enhance the New York State photonics, optics and imaging industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government. Its members represent the top optics and imaging companies in the world. Its partnerships, alliances, and ongoing innovation bring international opportunities to Rochester.

Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World

Columbus stumbled upon the New World while seeking the riches of the orient, yet native peoples of the Americas already held riches beyond his knowing. From maize to potatoes to native beans, a variety of crops unfamiliar to Europeans were cultivated by indigenous peoples of the Americas, with other foods like chilies and chocolate on hand to make diets all the more interesting (even when used in combination, as aficionados of molé will attest). Chilies to Chocolate traces the biological and cultural history of some New World crops that have worldwide economic importance. Drawing on disciplines as diverse as anthropology, ethnobotany, and agronomy, it focuses on the domestication and use of these plants by native peoples and their dispersion into the fields and kitchens of the Old World: tomatoes to Italy, chili peppers throughout Asia, cacao wherever a sweet tooth craves chocolate. Indeed, potatoes and maize now rank with wheat and rice as the world's principal crops. "The sweetness of corn on the cob is sweeter for knowing the long, winding way by which it has come into one's hands," observe Foster and Cordell. Featuring contributions by Gary Nabhan, Alan Davidson, and others, Chilies to Chocolate will increase readers' appreciation of the foods we all enjoy, of the circuitous routes by which they have become part of our diets, and of the vital role that Native Americans have played in this process. CONTENTS Introduction, by Nelson Foster & Linda S. Cordell1. Europeans' Wary Encounter with Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Other New World Foods, by Alan Davidson2. The Renaissance of Amaranth, by Daniel K. Early3. Vanilla: Nectar of the Gods, by Patricia Rain4. Maize: Gift from America's First Peoples, by Walton C. Galinat5. Beans of the Americas, by Lawrence Kaplan & Lucille N. Kaplan6. The Peripatetic Chili Pepper: Diffusion of the Domesticated Capsicums Since


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