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URochester leads state finalist in NSF laser innovation competition
Science, Technology, Engineering for Lasers and Laser Applications Research project team members gathered at NextCorps/Luminate Accelerator at Sibley Square in February. (URochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
Science, Technology, Engineering for Lasers and Laser Applications Research project team members gathered at NextCorps/Luminate Accelerator at Sibley Square in February. (URochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
URochester leads state finalist in NSF laser innovation competition
A coalition led by the University of Rochester is positioning the Rochester and Finger Lakes region as a national hub for laser science and development, recently hosting the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a site visit as part of the final phase of the agency’s Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition.
The University of Rochester’s STELLAR initiative — Science, Technology and Engineering for Laser and Laser Applications Research — is one of 15 finalists nationwide and the only proposal from New York state still under consideration in the program’s second funding round. The NSF Engines initiative is designed to establish and scale regional innovation ecosystems that accelerate critical technology development while strengthening local economies.
“There is no better place for a national resurgence in laser technology than the imaging capital of the world, which has a nearly 175-year history of expertise in precision, innovation, and light,” said Thomas Brown, director of the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics and principal investigator for the STELLAR project. “This region has the pedigree, talent, and brainpower needed to fill national talent shortages, translate technologies into businesses, bring manufacturing to a scale that can compete with leaders in Europe and China, and fuel core research and development.”
The NSF visit included in-person interviews and a due diligence review to evaluate each finalist’s readiness, resources, and ability to meet the nation’s evolving technology and workforce needs.
The Rochester proposal builds on groundwork established in 2023, when the NSF awarded URochester a $1 million Regional Innovation Engines Development Award to support planning for the initiative.
Since then, the competition has narrowed significantly, from nearly 300 initial letters of intent to just 15 finalists. The NSF is expected to announce the 2026 NSF Engines award recipients later this year.
During the site visit, STELLAR leaders outlined how the initiative could strengthen the region’s leadership in laser technologies, workforce development, company creation and advanced manufacturing.
Key partners in the coalition include the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics and Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology, NextCorps Luminate, Greater Rochester Enterprise, AmeriCOM and New York State.
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