The Institute of Optics is a department and research center at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. The institute grants degrees at the

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

levels through the University of Rochester School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Since its founding, the institute has granted over 2,500 degrees in optics, making up about half of the degrees awarded in the field in the United States. The institute is made up of 20 full-time

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

s, 12 professors with joint appointments in other departments, 10

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

s, 5 research scientists, 11 staff, about 170

undergraduate student Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

s and about 110

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

History

Founded in 1929, through a grant from

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

and

Bausch and Lomb Bausch & Lomb (since 2010 stylized as Bausch + Lomb) is an American-Canadian eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intra ...

, the institute is the oldest

educational program An educational program is a program written by the institution or ministry of education which determines the learning progress of each subject in all the stages of formal education. See also * Philosophy of education *Curriculum In education, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

devoted to

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

. During World War I, many American defense companies relied heavily on German optics. The need for an American-based institution of optical training became apparent when the flow of German imports, including optics, attenuated. The Institute of Optics has long been deeply involved in American optics study and research. The

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

was founded in 1916 by 30 optical scientists and instrument makers based in Rochester. The proximity of Rochester to many optical companies has provided an excellent environment for collaboration with industry, as well as funding for research. Companies have in the past included

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

and

but the institute's Industrial Associates has expanded to include nearly 50 companies. Notable local members include Optimax,

Corning Inc Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company specializing in glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was name ...

and

L3Harris L3Harris Technologies, Inc. is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produces products for command and control systems, wireless equipment, tactical radios, avionics and electroni ...

. Altogether there are over 100 companies in the

Rochester NY Rochester is a city in and the seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 census. The city form ...

and

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

region for whom optics, photonics, and lasers are a central part of the business. The Institute of Optics occupied the top floor of Bausch and Lomb Hall from 1931 to 1977. Currently, the institute is primarily housed in the Wilmot Building on the River Campus of the University of Rochester; construction began in 1961 with support from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, as well as other buildings and centers, including the

Laboratory for Laser Energetics The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is a scientific research facility which is part of the University of Rochester's south campus, located in Brighton, New York. The lab was established in 1970 with operations jointly funded by the Unite ...

. The institute successfully expanded into the new

Robert B. Goergen Robert B. Goergen is a corporate executive, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Blyth, Inc. He is also the founder and chairman of The Ropart Group, a private-equity investment firm. Goergen was a member of th ...

Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics, which was completed in March 2007 and was dedicated on May 17, 2007.University of Rochester: Office of the President: Diversity Task Force Report:
State of the University Presentation to the Faculty Senate In 2018,

Donna Strickland Donna Theo Strickland (born 27 May 1959) is a Canadian optical physicist and pioneer in the field of pulsed lasers. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, together with Gérard Mourou, for the practical implementation of chirped ...

, became the institute's first alumnus to become a Nobel laureate, winning the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

with former institute professor

Gérard Mourou Gérard Albert Mourou (; born 22 June 1944) is a French scientist and pioneer in the field of electrical engineering and lasers. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, along with Donna Strickland, for the invention of chirped pulse a ...

Academic programs

The Institute of Optics has been granting degrees in optics since its founding in 1929. Beginning with a BS program that included foundational physics, optical design and engineering, optical physics, and medical optics, the program eventually expanded to include MS and PhD programs. The first graduate of the institute was Arthur Ingalls (BS 1932). The first graduate of the MS and PhD programs was Robert E. Hopkins, who later became a professor and director of the institute. Now part of the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the institute continues to offer BS, MS and PhD degrees and has an enrollment of about 300 students. Students go on to careers in optical engineering, optical physics, entrepreneurship, biomedical sciences, and a variety of other career paths.

Notable faculty

* Former Director Duncan Moore: Former President of Optica, Pioneer in the field of

gradient index optics Gradient-index (GRIN) optics is the branch of optics covering optical effects produced by a gradient of the refractive index of a material. Such gradual variation can be used to produce lenses with flat surfaces, or lenses that do not have th ...

and leader in technical entrepreneurship. * Former Director Xicheng Zhang: Pioneer in the field of teraHertz technology. * Former Director P. Scott Carney: Pioneer in the field of

physical optics In physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies Interference (wave propagation), interference, diffraction, Polarization (waves), polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric opti ...

with notable contributions to biomedical optics. * Former Director Wayne H. Knox: Former Director of the Advanced Photonics Research Department at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

and pioneer in

ultrafast optics In optics, an ultrashort pulse, also known as an ultrafast event, is an electromagnetic pulse whose time duration is of the order of a picosecond (10−12 second) or less. Such pulses have a broadband optical spectrum, and can be created by ...

and

femtosecond laser Mode locking is a technique in optics by which a laser can be made to produce pulses of light of extremely short duration, on the order of picoseconds (10−12 s) or femtoseconds (10−15 s). A laser operated in this way is sometimes r ...

ophthalmology. * Current director Thomas G. Brown: Noted for the study of unconventional polarization states of light and leader in AIM Photonics. * Govind Agrawal: Pioneer and highly cited author in

Optical Communications Optical communication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually or by using electronic devices. The earliest basic forms of optical communication date b ...

Optical Fibers An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

, and

Nonlinear Optics Nonlinear optics (NLO) is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in Nonlinearity, nonlinear media, that is, media in which the polarization density P responds non-linearly to the electric field E of the light. The non-linearity ...

. *

Robert W. Boyd Robert William Boyd (born 8 March 1948) is an American physicist noted for his work in optical physics and especially in nonlinear optics. He is currently the Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate in Quantum Nonlinear Optics based at the Uni ...

: Pioneer and highly cited author in

non-linear optics In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathem ...

and

quantum optics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction ...

. * David Williams: Former director of the Center for Visual Science, pioneer in the use of adaptive optics for retinal imaging. * Susana Marcos: Current director of the Center for Visual Science, pioneer in

vision science Vision science is the scientific study of visual perception. Researchers in vision science can be called vision scientists, especially if their research spans some of the science's many disciplines. Vision science encompasses all studies of vision ...

and engineering. *

Joseph H. Eberly Joseph Henry Eberly (October 19, 1935 – April 30, 2025) was an American physicist and academic. He was a professor of physics, astronomy and optics at the University of Rochester. Early life and education Joseph Henry Eberly was born in 1935. ...

: Pioneer in the field of

, former President of the

, and founding editor of

Optics Express ''Optics Express'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Optica. It was established in 1997. The journal reports on scientific and technology innovations in all aspects of optics and photonics. The Energy Express supplement ...

, the first open access publication in optics. * James Zavislan: Professor of Optics, Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology. *

James Fienup James Ray Fienup (born April 17, 1948) is an American optical scientist and Applied physics, applied physicist. He is the Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics at the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester, where he researches imaging ...

: Pioneer in optical imaging and

phase retrieval Phase retrieval is the process of algorithmically finding solutions to the phase problem. Given a complex spectrum F(k), of amplitude , F (k), , and phase \psi(k): ::F(k) = , F(k), e^ =\int_^ f(x)\ e^\,dx where ''x'' is an ''M''-dimensional spat ...

. * Chunlei Guo: Pioneer in

processing of materials. * Andrew Berger: Award-winning educator and expert in biomedical optics. *

Julie Bentley Julie Bentley is a British voluntary sector leader and Chief Executive of Samaritans. Julie was Chief Executive of Action for Children from August 2018 to February 2020. She had served in similar roles at Girlguiding, 2012–2018 the Family Plann ...

: Award-winning educator and expert in

optical design Optical lens design is the process of designing a lens to meet a set of performance requirements and constraints, including cost and manufacturing limitations. Parameters include surface profile types (spherical, aspheric, holographic, diffractive ...

. *

Jannick Rolland Jannick Rolland is the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering at the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. She is also the co-founder and CTO of LighTopTech, a women-owner business founded in 2013 to create medical imag ...

: Director of the Center for Freeform Optics and the Robert E. Hopkins Center for Optical Design and Engineering. * Susan Houde-Walter: Former President of Optica, Entrepreneur, Pioneer in the field of optical materials. * Director Dennis G. Hall: Pioneer in the field of guided-wave optics and

electromagnetic theory In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interact ...

and was among the first to predict the emergence of

silicon photonics Silicon photonics is the study and application of photonic systems which use silicon as an optical medium. The silicon is usually patterned with sub-micrometre precision, into microphotonic components. These operate in the infrared, most commo ...

. * Interim Director

Ian Walmsley Ian Alexander Walmsley is Provost of Imperial College London where he is also Chair of Experimental Physics. He was previously pro-vice-chancellor for research and Hooke Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Oxford, and a prof ...

: Pioneer in

Quantum Optics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction ...

, co-invented

Spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction In ultrafast optics, spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER) is an ultrashort pulse measurement technique originally developed by Chris Iaconis and Ian Walmsley. The basics SPIDER is an interferometric ultr ...

(SPIDER), formerly of the University of Oxford Department of Physics, currently Provost of Imperial College (London UK). * Lukas Novotny: Pioneer in

nano-optics Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. I ...

. * Carlos Stroud: Pioneer in the field of

and

Quantum Information Quantum information is the information of the state of a quantum system. It is the basic entity of study in quantum information theory, and can be manipulated using quantum information processing techniques. Quantum information refers to both t ...

. * Former Director Nicholas George: Pioneer in

holography Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...

, and electronic imaging. *

Leonard Mandel Leonard Mandel (May 9, 1927 – February 9, 2001) was an American physicist who contributed to the development of theoretical and experimental modern optics and is widely considered one of the founding fathers of the field of quantum optics. With ...

: Pioneer in the field of

, first demonstrated

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless particles that can ...

self interference, discovered the Mandel Formula. *

Rudolf Kingslake Rudolf Kingslake (born Rudolf Klickmann; August 28, 1903 – February 28, 2003) was an English academic, lens designer, and engineer. Early life and education Kingslake was born in London, England in 1903 as Rudolf Klickmann. The latter is i ...

: Pioneer in the field of

lens design Optical lens design is the process of designing a lens to meet a set of performance requirements and constraints, including cost and manufacturing limitations. Parameters include surface profile types (spherical, aspheric, holographic, diffractive ...

, founding faculty member. * Robert E. Hopkins: Pioneer in the field of

optical engineering Optical engineering is the field of engineering encompassing the physical phenomena and technologies associated with the generation, transmission, manipulation, detection, and utilization of light. Optical engineers use the science of optics to ...

, former director and founder of Tropel Corporation. * M. Parker Givens: Director of the institute from 1975 to 1977 * Stephen Jacobs: Pioneer in

Liquid Crystals Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as i ...

, and in Magneto-Rheological Finishing. *

Emil Wolf Emil Wolf (July 30, 1922 – June 2, 2018) was a Czech-born American physicist who made advancements in physical optics, including diffraction, coherence properties of optical fields, spectroscopy of partially coherent radiation, and the theory o ...

: Pioneer in the field of coherence theory and

, predicted the Wolf Effect. * Former Director Kenneth Teegarden: Pioneer in

exciton An exciton is a bound state of an electron and an electron hole which are attracted to each other by the electrostatic Coulomb's law, Coulomb force resulting from their opposite charges. It is an electrically neutral quasiparticle regarded as ...

physics and color centers.

Research areas

* Biomedical optics * Coherence theory *

Fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

s *

Quantum optics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction ...

Laser physics Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a po ...

Polarization Polarization or polarisation may refer to: Mathematics *Polarization of an Abelian variety, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by ...

Non-linear optics In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathem ...

*Laser-based

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

*Integrated Photonics especially

Silicon Photonics Silicon photonics is the study and application of photonic systems which use silicon as an optical medium. The silicon is usually patterned with sub-micrometre precision, into microphotonic components. These operate in the infrared, most commo ...

Vision Science Vision science is the scientific study of visual perception. Researchers in vision science can be called vision scientists, especially if their research spans some of the science's many disciplines. Vision science encompasses all studies of vision ...

and

Vision Engineering Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

Optical Engineering Optical engineering is the field of engineering encompassing the physical phenomena and technologies associated with the generation, transmission, manipulation, detection, and utilization of light. Optical engineers use the science of optics to ...

* Freeform Optics *

Optical Design Optical lens design is the process of designing a lens to meet a set of performance requirements and constraints, including cost and manufacturing limitations. Parameters include surface profile types (spherical, aspheric, holographic, diffractive ...

and

Optical Metrology Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

References

External links

The Institute of Optics

Center for Optics Manufacturing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute Of Optics University of Rochester Optics institutions Universities and colleges established in 1929 1929 establishments in New York (state)