Institute of Optics

Optics professor Xi-Cheng Zhang has worked for nearly a decade to solve a scientific puzzle.

Spectrometers are used in a variety of applications, from environmental monitoring to astronomy to healthcare diagnostics. A new design using freeform optics upends more than a century of optical design.

The Rochester alumnus will build on the institute's outstanding reputation as nation's oldest school of optics, as he takes up his new position on July 1.

"You can see the most incredible images in things you never would have thought of," says Hajim School of Engineering dean Wendi Heinzelman describing the student artwork on display in the the annual Art of Science Competition.

From drones that see color to devices that help veterinarians extract the objects our pets swallow, this year's Design Day showcases 87 seniors projects from students in five engineering departments and computer science.

Two University of Rochester start-up companies are among those singled out in a new report from the Science Coalition identifying 102 companies that trace their roots to federally-funded university research.

Chunlei Guo and his team have used lasers to make materials extremely water repellent. Now the researchers can visualize, for the first time, the complete evolution of micro- and nanoscale structural formation on the material’s surface.

An “analytically beautiful mathematical solution” could bring unprecedented sharpness to ultrasound and radar images, burn precise holes in manufactured materials at a nano scale—even etch new properties onto their surfaces.

A team of University researchers is exploring the possibility that stem cells on the outer edges of the cornea, given the right stimulation, can replace damaged cells. The work raises the possibility of restoring vision without the need for cornea transplants.

On December 7, 1941, the lives of Rochester faculty and students were immediately changed, and a sleepy campus by the Genesee River was transformed into a vital hub for the war effort.