UB establishes photonics, laser center
Institute to capitalize on links between university and WNY industries, institutions

By ELLEN GOLDBAUM
News Services Editor

The university has established a new, multidisciplinary institute to conduct research designed to harness the power of light in a broad spectrum of applications and potential products, ranging from telecommunications to cancer therapy.

The Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, which will capitalize on synergies between UB and Western New York industry and research and medical institutions, was announced by Provost David Triggle.

"UB and Western New York enjoy a unique set of resources, both locally and across the border in Canada, which has made it possible for us to take an early lead in lasers, photonics and biophotonics research by creating a world-class institute in these fields," said Triggle.

He said that the institute's goals are to conduct research and development on new materials and technologies leading to technology transfer, to provide education and industrial training for developing a skilled workforce and to offer a world-class facility for consulting and testing.

The idea is to foster economic growth in Western New York by tapping into UB's strengths in lasers, optical technologies and biotechnology.

"This institute is a stellar example of the highly productive, interdisciplinary partnerships that UB is fostering with businesses, industries and research institutions in Western New York and southern Ontario," said President William R. Greiner. "Because UB's photonics research facilities under Professor Prasad have focused on both the fundamental science involved in the design of photonic materials and their industrial applications, we have already scored major achievements in the preparation of new optical materials - paving the way for additional successes from our new institute in the near future.

"We're excited about the institute's potential to stimulate economic development in the region, and we look forward to the institute's future advances in scientific knowledge and the development of new partnerships with other institutions under Professor Prasad's leadership," added Greiner.

Photonics is the information-processing counterpart of electronics, using photons instead of electrons to process information.

The Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics has its roots in UB's Photonics Research Laboratory (PRL), established in 1990 and considered one of the most advanced and comprehensive facilities for photonics research in the U.S. The PRL is home to nearly $10 million worth of equipment, acquired over the past decade.

Paras Prasad, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Physics in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, Samuel P. Capen Chair and director of the PRL, is executive director of the new institute.

UB holds unique spot in photonics Among the world's photonics facilities, UB's has earned a unique reputation. "Whereas other research facilities have tended to focus either on the fundamental science behind the design of photonic materials or on their industrial applications, the UB program was designed to do both," said Paras Prasad, executive director of the new Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, Samuel P. Capen Chair and director of the Photonics Research Laboratory. This broad emphasis has allowed photonics and laser research to thrive under Prasad, leading to key achievements in preparing, processing and modeling of new optical materials, many of which have enormous potential for technology transfer. These include: - Sensitive, cellular probes, which are allowing scientists their first birds-eye view of what actually happens in a cancer cell. A patent has been issued on this material. - Photosensitizers that allow for deeper penetration of infrared light into deep tumors, which destroys them. The work is a collaboration with Roswell Park Cancer Institute. - CDs that store information not just on the surface, but in three dimensions, allowing for thousands of times the storage space now available. - Materials that allow for the nondestructive probing by infrared laser light deep into polymers, coatings and other samples, up to depths of more than 250 microns.

The author of more than 350 scientific papers, Prasad is responsible for bringing in annual research funding of more than $1 million. He is the president of a high-tech company in the UB incubator, Laser Photonics Technologies, Inc., which develops innovative optical materials.

Prasad's research has resulted in a broad range of fundamental advances, such as the generation of new photonic materials that already are being used to develop new cancer treatments, CDs that pack a thousand times more data than those available today and extremely sensitive molecular probes.

"With this institute, UB is doing something that goes far beyond an academic exercise," said Prasad. "We are really reaching out to industry and research institutions in an entrepreneurial endeavor that will benefit this community. Together, with our partners, we will be devel-oping real products that will attract new businesses to this area and generate economic development."

According to Prasad, the purpose of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics is to serve as the focal point of a photonics corridor encompassing institutions and firms in Western New York and in nearby Ontario.

Within the university, the institute already has ongoing relationships with other photonics research programs in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Pharmacy and the Department of Physics.

The institute will build on the PRL's current collaborations with the Calspan-UB Research Center and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and foresees fruitful relationships with other institutions, including Kaleida Health Group, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and Rochester General Hospital Laser Center. The institute already has formed a collaboration with Photonics Research Ontario and Princess Margaret Hospital, with which UB recently signed a memorandum of understanding. Interactions with regional industries are expected to form an important linkage of the new institute.

The institute also will offer its partners, both inside and outside the university, access to a broad range of scientific instruments and technologies, each of which is involved in the growth of major markets. They include:

- Industrial and medical lasers
- Sensor technologies
- Fiber optics
- Imaging and display technologies
- High-density data storage
- Optical coatings and solar-energy panels
- Medical and dental imaging and diagnostics
- Bioinformatics
- Laser-activated treatments
- Photo-dynamic cancer therapies

In addition to world-class testing and research facilities, the institute will offer to its industrial partners technical expertise, joint efforts to develop new products, short courses on innovative technologies and training and recruitment opportunities.

For the university, the institute will offer an interdisciplinary graduate program of study, post-doctoral training, visiting faculty programs, summer programs and international collaborations and exchange programs.

Efforts in the biomedical arena include research into new cancer treatments, new instruments and laser training for medical, dental and aesthetic applications.

Funding to launch the institute has been provided by the Office of the Provost, with faculty support from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.