In this issue:Learn how COM-Lab benefits optics companies. Get to know DPOC member Vertex Optics. Meet optics expert and optics program supervisor, Jack Stafford. Plus, see how our partner schools are leading technician training right now.
Accelerate your work with COM-Lab
Collaborative research. Faster time to market. Stronger return on investment. These are just a few of the benefits of COM-Lab, AmeriCOM’s unique facility where you can take your optics projects to the next level.
The tools and expertise to keep you ahead.
Now companies can get access to advanced optics equipment and trained technicians without the steep costs of building and maintaining their own labs. From testing new processes to refining new products, COM-Lab can help you power up your R&D through a range of vital tools. If you’re a DPOC member, the COM-Lab is available to you, whether you have your own technician, or you’d like support from ours.
COM-Lab includes equipment such as the Moore Nanotech 650FG V3 Single Point Diamond Turning tool.
A dynamic, collaborative space.
COM-Lab is more than just equipment—it’s a professional hub. Here, fellow business leaders, researchers, and optics innovators connect. It’s an ideal place to share insights, and work together to strengthen the defense precision optics industrial base.
Vertex Optics polishes its rep in precision components
Established in 2018, Vertex Optics makes precision optical components for the aerospace, medical, defense, semiconductor, energy, and automotive industries. The company specializes in high-precision components made from brittle materials such as optical glasses, crystals, and technical ceramics. It offers custom grinding and polishing, and coating solutions, along with state-of-the-art metrology and collaborative engineering support from design to final inspection.
Founders of Vertex Optics, Inc., Jayson Tierson and Joe Serio
Why the company joined DPOC
“By becoming members, we gained access to a wider network of industry peers and established companies, opening the door to valuable collaborations and new partnerships,” says Tina Wilfeard, communications specialist at Vertex Optics. “This increased credibility and visibility in the defense and high-tech sectors is crucial to strengthening our position in securing coveted contracting opportunities.”
Edmund Optics is a leading global provider of optical technology solutions, designing and manufacturing a wide range of precision optics and optical components, optical lens assemblies, and lab supplies.
EvolvOptic formerly Advanced Glass Industries (AGI), is a precision manufacturer specializing in optical component blanks, offering a range of materials and services for the optics industry and beyond.
Greenlight Optics is an optical systems engineering and manufacturing company specializing in designing, prototyping, and manufacturing custom optical components and systems.
Omega Optical is a leading optics platform that designs and manufactures optical filters, coatings, diffractive optics, and infrared components for a wide range of industries.
Silica-X Inc. is pioneering sustainable solutions by transforming waste into high-value products by integrating AI, materials science, and advanced manufacturing.
Zygo is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced optical metrology systems and ultra-precise optical components and assemblies, enabling precision measurement and characterization of surfaces and optical systems.
Jack Stafford, SCCC Optics Technology Program Supervisor
Jack Stafford: Sparking curiosity in future optics pros
Jack Stafford has built a remarkable career shaping the future of optics technology—and he wants to cultivate the same excitement in a new generation. Stafford, Optics Technology Program Supervisor at Sussex County Community College (SCCC) in New Jersey, is helping students develop the skills needed to build careers of their own. He was a student himself when Stafford’s own career trajectory changed.
“I had started at Stevens Institute of Technology as a computer science major,” Stafford says. “But it wasn’t until I took a modern optics course that I discovered an interest in optics technology and switched majors to engineering physics with a concentration on applied optics.”
He was surprised and fascinated by the ubiquity of optics in daily life.
“I was amazed by the fact that it was so prevalent everywhere and supported so many other fields and industries. A lot of people don’t realize how often they use optics every day,” Stafford says. “It seemed like the possibilities were endless.”
As the supervisor of SCCC’s Optics Technology Program, Stafford’s workweek is a blend of teaching, lab management, and industry collaboration.
As the optics field grows rapidly, Sussex County Community College (SCCC) is expanding its Optics Technology Program including a 2,500-square-foot expansion of its Optics Technology Center in Newton, N.J., funded by a State Bond Act grant. The expansion is set for completion in October 2025. SCCC was the first community college to partner with AmeriCOM in 2021.
The new Optics Center exterior renderings from HQW Architects.
Economic Development takes center stage at Keene State
Keene State College recently hosted a gathering of movers and shakers to talk about how the University System of New Hampshire, and Keene State in particular, can support workforce development and the state’s economy. A panel at the event discussed the region’s optics manufacturing sector—and the industry-college partnerships fueling the workforce pipeline.
AmeriCOM board member Len Chaloux (third from right) along with Matt Zabko (right) join the panel discussion.
Among the panelists was AmeriCOM board member Len Chaloux, who founded Moore Nanotechnology Systems in Swanzey, N.H., in 1997 and served as its CEO until he retired in 2018. Moore Nano, together with Precitech, also located in Keene, NH, work closely with Keene State on workforce development. These companies, along with a dozen others, serve on the Monadnock Optics Advisory Board (MOAB) for the Keene State Precision Optics program. Matt Zabko, General Manager of 603 OPTX, a MOAB member company, also served on the panel.
“I deeply appreciated what Len brought to the panel and the way he helped our audience understand the vision of what we are all working towards,” says Jim Kraly, who leads the Optics program AmeriCOM set up at Keene State.
Keene State College and AmeriCOM recently partnered to build a one-year certificate program that produces technicians skilled in precision optics manufacturing using the diamond-turning process. The program is expected to begin in fall of 2025, adding to the series of weeklong workshops already in place. See below for details.
Skill upgrade opp: Diamond-turning workshop
If you’re an optics technician looking to upskill, this spring AmeriCOM partner Keene State College in New Hampshire is offering a series of one-week workshops in its new Kingsbury Center for Diamond Turning Excellence.
Gain a full understanding of diamond-turning technology with topics like optical-mechanical design, fixture design, and the manufacturing of metal, infrared, and plastic optics.
In the heart of the U.S. diamond-turning industry, this workshop features technology from local suppliers Precitech and Moore Nanotechnology.
The Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Council (OEOSC) is looking for optics industry pros to develop and/or teach short courses in optical standards.
Instructors will be required to join OEOSC. Once accredited by OEOSC, these courses can be taught at conferences (hint: Optifab 2025), companies, and colleges through a range of formats, from in-person classes to virtual classes to asynchronous, independent courses online.
Funding is available to people who develop and teach courses.
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