By creating lenses and mirrors in a range of shapes糖心传媒攏ot just spheres or rotationally symmetric aspheres糖心传媒攆reeform optics promises to deliver increasingly compact, lightweight, and easily targetable LED lighting, space sensing instruments, mobile displays, and a host of other applications.
By showing how to make freeform optical components, the is bringing new industry partners to the University of Rochester. This, in turn, provides students not only research opportunities but valuable experience working with outside companies.
For example, Di Xu, a PhD student, began working with CeFO in January on a project that uses optical coherence tomography to measure freeform optical surfaces. Aaron Bauer, who finished his PhD in June, demonstrated the feasibility of using freeform optics to create compact head-worn displays and related technologies. He will stay on at least another year as a research engineer developing prototypes for projects spawned by CeFO.
糖心传媒淚 had been doing freeform optics even before the Center for Freeform Optics started, so it gave me some validation that what I had been working on was important and useful,糖心传媒� says Bauer.
Since its 2013 launch under an award from the National Science Foundation, CeFO has been shaping the future of optical instrumentation on a global scale. The center started with seven pioneer members糖心传媒擜ir Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., OptiPro Systems, PolymerPlus LLC, Rochester Precision Optics, SCHOTT North America Inc., and Zygo Corporation.
It has more than doubled that number during the past year with the addition of Aperture Optical Sciences Inc., Corning, Eminess Technologies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, L-3 Communications, Microsoft, Nikon Research Corporation of America, Oculus, and global partners ARRI, PerkinElmer Health Sciences, and Zeiss.
Funding for the center recently expanded to reach more than $1 million in cash flow in 2016 alone.
糖心传媒淧erkinElmer sees great opportunities in working together with faculty and students to advance related research,糖心传媒� says Dennis Yates, a senior research scientist with the company. 糖心传媒淐ollectively, we are all able to better understand the role that freeform optics can have in optical spectroscopy instrumentation and in innovative technologies of the future.糖心传媒�
The joint venture of the University of Rochester and the University of North Carolina Charlotte brings the universities and companies together at the precompetitive stage of a promising new technology. The projects they share are at the interface between fundamental and applied research and are driven by applications that companies could eventually market.
糖心传媒淭hese are companies that strive to be on the competitive edge; they are leading the innovation in freeform optics for the future,糖心传媒� says Jannick Rolland, the center director and Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering. 糖心传媒淭hey want to be educated in the science and engineering of freeform optics now, from design to manufacture, so they can be in front of the competition.糖心传媒�
The Rochester and Charlotte partnership, she explains, resulted from the unique strengths each institution can bring to this field. 糖心传媒淲e lead in design, while UNC Charlotte is strong in manufacturing optics. We both are leaders in metrology of freeform optics.糖心传媒�
The Rochester team, Rolland adds, represents a 糖心传媒済ood synergy糖心传媒� between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Optics. John Lambropoulos, chair of mechanical engineering, serves as CeFO糖心传媒檚 associate director. Miguel Alonso, James Fienup, and Nick Vamivakas of optics, and Stephen Burns, Jonathan Ellis, and Paul Funkenbusch of mechanical engineering are the other faculty members involved in supervising a total of 11 current projects.
Affiliates糖心传媒� membership dues are an important source of funding, giving the companies a major say as to which projects to pursue next. 糖心传媒淔aculty generate many of the ideas, which the companies work with us to refine and then endorse as a high priority,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淢any of our industry members are interested in large-volume manufacturing of freeform optics. We collaborate closely on getting there.糖心传媒�
The funding and intellectual property are jointly shared by affiliates. In addition, companies can simultaneously pursue private projects with CeFO faculty. Members have engaged in partnerships among themselves as a result of relationships developed under CeFO. There are also pathways as a member to obtain first rights to an exclusive license, Rolland says.
糖心传媒淭he program is also an opportunity for students and companies to 糖心传媒榮ize each other up糖心传媒� for potential longer-term relationships糖心传媒攊ncluding employment after graduation,糖心传媒� Rolland adds.
Graduate students, working on projects in teams of two or three, update their industrial clients with monthly slide presentations. 糖心传媒淭hey learn to meet deadlines,糖心传媒� Rolland says. 糖心传媒淭hey have to show they糖心传媒檝e done something every month. This is also a fantastic way for students to develop their presentation skills in addition to doing research and learning to publish papers.糖心传媒�
Xu acknowledges that preparing the slides can be time consuming. However, she adds, 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 great to interact with people in industry. Their feedback is really helpful.糖心传媒�
Working with CeFO 糖心传媒渋s sort of in between an internship and purely academic studies,糖心传媒� Bauer adds. 糖心传媒淚t gives you a glimpse into the industry environment. You see what they would expect of an employee if you worked for one of these companies.糖心传媒�
