Optics technology wins award

he Center for Optics Manufacturing has won the Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for its work on a fluid polishing process that has been used by researchers to polish precision optics at about half the cost of conventional methods.

The process, called magnetorheological finishing, is designed to precisely finish optical components--lenses and mirrors of glass or other, more exotic materials--that meet very difficult surface specifications.

Magnetorheological finishing has received industry-wide acclaim, winning two of the optical industry's most prestigious awards for technology innovation and achievement: the Photonics Circle of Excellence Award and the Laser Focus World Commercial Technology Achievement Award.

The process is being commercialized by QED Technologies, a Rochester company, and is already in place in many industry facilities.

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