{"id":720422,"date":"2026-10-06T08:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=720422"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:52:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T00:52:52","slug":"sujatha-ramanujan-ceo-nsf-stellar-engine-720422","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/sujatha-ramanujan-ceo-nsf-stellar-engine-720422\/","title":{"rendered":"Sujatha Ramanujan named CEO of NSF STELLAR Engine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former Luminate managing director will work to establish the Rochester\/Finger Lakes region as an internationally competitive leader in laser innovation.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Sujatha Ramanujan (Photo credit: Sue Zeccola)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sujatha Ramanujan has been named chief executive officer of the newly awarded<\/a> United States National Science Foundation (NSF) STELLAR Engine of the Rochester\/Finger Lakes Region of New York<\/a>, led by the University of Rochester<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ramanujan transitions to the University after serving as NextCorps<\/a>\u2019 managing director and chief investment officer of Luminate NY<\/a>. Under her leadership, Luminate has become the world\u2019s largest accelerator for deep-tech companies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI) technologies. Since its inception in 2017, Luminate has invested $26 million in 96 startups. Portfolio companies have subsequently raised an additional $564 million, achieved an estimated market value of more than $750 million, created 205 regional jobs, and supported more than 140 regional contract manufacturing projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cSujatha has proven executive leadership in commercial technology scaling and venture development, and we are delighted to have someone of her caliber spearheading this important initiative,\u201d says URochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cHer experience will be critical as STELLAR works to establish our region as a world leader in laser innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Thomas Brown<\/a>, the director of URochester\u2019s Institute of Optics<\/a> and principal investigator of the NSF STELLAR Engine, \u201cAs one of STELLAR\u2019s original co-principal investigators, Sujatha has been a critical leader throughout the NSF STELLAR Engine\u2019s inception, helping to craft a compelling case to secure significant federal and state investment in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region. She will be a unifying force for our region\u2019s optics, photonics, imaging, and laser ecosystem, and there is no one better positioned to lead STELLAR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key partners of STELLAR (Science, Technology and Engineering of Laser and Laser Applications Research) include the Institute of Optics (the nation\u2019s premier optical education program) and the\u00a0Laboratory for Laser Energetics<\/a> (home to the largest academic lasers in the world) at URochester, along with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Monroe Community College (MCC), NextCorps, Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE), and New York State. Launched with a two-year, $15 million grant from the NSF alongside $16 million in New York State support over six years, the initiative positions Rochester as the nation\u2019s focal point for laser advancement.<\/p>\n

In the role, Ramanujan will focus on building the key pillars for STELLAR:<\/p>\n