Features
OPTICAL VISIONARIES: Students and faculty from the Institute of Optics, historically, have found entrepreneurial outlets for the expertise that they鈥攍ike the group studying image formation in this undated photo鈥攁cquired at Rochester. (University Libraries/Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation)
When Duncan Moore 鈥�74 (PhD), the Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Professor in Optical Engineering Science, three years ago began doing some research for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the optics company Tropel, he made an intriguing discovery.
Tropel鈥攏ow a division of Corning Inc., and one of the world鈥檚 leaders in customized precision optical instruments鈥攚as formed by Robert Hopkins 鈥�45 (PhD), then a professor at the Institute of Optics. Moore鈥檚 research indicated that former students of Hopkins went on to found 15 optics companies. He surmised that Hopkins, who later returned to the University鈥檚 Laboratory of Laser Energetics and continued teaching at the institute after creating Tropel, had intentionally instructed students in the ins and outs of starting and running a company.
Moore was wrong.
Despite many interviews with Hopkins鈥檚 former students, he 鈥渃ould not find one single instance鈥� where Hopkins had talked explicitly with his students about launching their own businesses. Instead, alumni told Moore that it was seeing what faculty at the institute were doing that gave them the inspiration and tools to start their own companies.
A lot of the alumni, Moore remembers, said something like 鈥淚 saw Bob doing something and thought, 鈥業 could do that.鈥� 鈥�
Apparently, they were right. More than 150 alumni and faculty members of the institute have started their own companies. And the University and the broader Rochester business community have long played a leading role in creating and maintaining some of the world鈥檚 most successful optics firms. Along the way, they鈥檝e created a tight-knit community within the sphere of optics.
COAST TO COAST: In the six decades since Robert Hopkins 鈥�45 (PhD), then a professor at the Institute of Optics, Jack Evans 鈥�39, 鈥�49 (Mas), and James Anderson created their optics company Tropel, more than 150 alumni and faculty members of the institute have started their own businesses. Considered one of the world鈥檚 leaders in customized precision optical instruments, Tropel is now a division of Corning Inc. While not all of the companies that trace their roots to the institute are still in business on their own, the University and the broader Rochester community have played a leading role in creating and maintaining some of the world鈥檚 most successful optics firms. As the charts indicate, the heaviest concentrations of University-connected enterprises are in the Rochester and San Francisco regions, but the companies can be found across the United States.
Founded in 1929, the institute was the first academic program focused on optics as a field. Since then, some 2,800 students have graduated, the largest group of optics degree鈥揾olders in the country.
鈥淭he people who leave Rochester never really leave Rochester,鈥� says Alan Willner, president of the Optical Society, known by the society鈥檚 moniker, OSA. 鈥淩ochester people are famous for their camaraderie and loyalty to the institute. They鈥檙e proud of being a product of the institute. They wear it as a badge of honor.鈥�
The Business of Invention
Even as a child, Stephen Fantone 鈥�79 (PhD) was fiddling with optics. He had a dark room and as a teen was grinding and polishing mirrors and building telescopes.
Today, he鈥檚 the founder, president, and CEO of Optikos Corp., a company based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, that is the world鈥檚 largest maker of equipment used to measure optical image quality. He has more than 65 patents to his name and serves on many corporate boards.
He says that the roots of his entrepreneurialism reach back to his graduate student years. He saw faculty members running their own businesses, and he himself took on consulting work while still a student. The combination of in-depth exposure to the local business community and the entrepreneurial success of faculty convinced Fantone that he, too, could venture into business.
He, along with other alumni, lectures to students when he is in Rochester.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen the skills of these students really blossom over the years,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hese kids are far better at presenting themselves.鈥�
And they present themselves so well that he has more than 15 institute alumni on his staff at Optikos.
鈥淚 have a lot of choices from where I can hire people,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an intangible aspect to it. They鈥檙e all smart and motivated鈥攁nd they have a passion for optics.鈥� 鈥擪evin Wesley
Moore agrees. 鈥淲e tell potential students, 鈥楲ook, if you graduate from the Institute of Optics, you can call any alumnus, regardless of their station in life. They鈥檒l take the call.鈥� 鈥�
Richard Pfisterer 鈥�79, 鈥�80 (MS) vouches for that. After graduating, he worked in the aerospace industry for several years, but grew to feel burned out. Eventually, he started his own company, Photon Engineering, in Tucson, Arizona. It鈥檚 a leading optical software firm. As he was considering whether to start the business, he knew he had a safety net in the institute.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of us walk off the cliff without throwing a handful of dirt first to see if something is there,鈥� he says. For Pfisterer, meeting someone else from the institute means that 鈥渟omehow we were related. You always knew there would be a classmate or professor who would help you solve your problem.鈥�
Ultimately, he says, it鈥檚 in the culture of the place. 鈥淎s a student, you see faculty come and go. You see them having businesses. I think it鈥檚 about being in an environment where you see people doing this and coming back to talk about it. You think, 鈥楬e鈥檚 teaching this, but he鈥檚 also doing this.鈥� 鈥�
Today, efforts to teach optics students about business are more intentional. Students are encouraged to take courses in business and entrepreneurship. Writing courses teach students how to communicate about technical knowledge with different audiences.
Moore鈥檚 research indicates that 70 to 80 percent of institute alumni today are in industry, with 10 to 12 percent in research positions, and the remainder in academic posts.
鈥淥nly three people have ever retired from the institute,鈥� says Moore, noting that, in addition to creating companies, faculty are often recruited away. 鈥淭hat is amazing.鈥�
Kevin Wesley is a Rochester-based freelance writer.
Rochester Review
May鈥揓une 2016
Vol. 78, No. 5
Story as a PDF