Board Also Recommends $30 Million for Continued State Funding of AIM Photonics in Rochester

Optics, Photonics and Imaging Innovation is Centerpiece of “Finger Lakes Forward” – The Region’s Comprehensive Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy

 The New York State Photonics Board of Officers (NYS Photonics Board) met today at the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) Testing, Assembly and Packaging (TAP) Facility in Rochester.  The NYS Photonics Board endorsed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $30 million Photonics Attraction Fund and was updated on the progress at the TAP Facility, including the near completion of the consortium’s renovated Lake Avenue office space at ON SemiConductor. The Board also signed off on continued funding for AIM Photonics. First announced by Vice President Joe Biden and Governor Cuomo in July 2015, AIM Photonics will help secure the nation and region’s leadership in emerging technology research, development, and manufacturing.  Optics, photonics, and imaging is one of the three industry clusters that are identified as industries that are key to enabling "Finger Lakes Forward,” the region’s successful Upstate Revitalization Initiative plan, a comprehensive strategy to grow the economy.
 
“The innovative AIM Photonics TAP Facility will be up and running later this year,” said New York State Photonics Board of Officers Chairman John Maggiore. “The facility is revolutionary and will build upon Rochester and New York State’s leadership in the optics, photonics, and imaging industries, which are central to the success of the locally designed Finger Lakes Forward economic development plan. The Photonics Attraction Fund, proposed in January by Governor Cuomo in his State of the State Address, will serve to further support the already building regional momentum.”
 
The $60 million in approved funding for AIM Photonics represents the third and fourth tranches of state expenditures approved by the Board for the Institute.  Last year, $81 million was approved. To date, the Board has approved recommendations for $247 million of the State’s $250 million commitment to the project. The total budget for AIM Photonics is $612,877,000 with the federal government committing $110 million and the state and other parties, including private sector companies, providing the balance.  New York State’s $60 million, which covers the period April 1, 2018, through March 31, 2020, includes $30 for the Photonics Attraction Fund. Overall, the capital budget will include $9 million for education and workforce development efforts, as well as research and development initiatives conducted in conjunction with the University of Rochester and the Rochester institute of technology. The remaining $21 million will be dedicated to the operation of the TAP Facility, which will work to foster sustainability through industry relationships and other commercial engagements.
 
In January of 2018, Governor Cuomo announced the creation of the Photonics Attraction Fund. As proposed, New York State will dedicate $30 million to the initiative which would be administered through the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council and is aimed at attracting integrated photonics companies to set up manufacturing operations in the greater Rochester area. Thanks to the world-renowned AIM Photonics consortium, the Finger Lakes is already a leader in photonics research and development, and this additional State funding will help leverage this unique asset to bring the businesses and the jobs of tomorrow to New York State.
 
One of 14 Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, with three of the fourteen institutes headquartered in New York State, AIM Photonics is an industry-driven public-private partnership that focuses the nation’s premiere capabilities and expertise to capture critical global manufacturing leadership in technologies that are both essential to national security and positioned to provide a compelling return-on-investment to the U.S. economy. For more information about AIM Photonics, visit http://www.aimphotonics.com/jobs/.

About the New York State Photonics Board of Officers
The New York State Photonics Board of Officers coordinates New York State’s significant financial investments with AIM. The board of officers consists of seven members who represent a wide array of business, programmatic, and technical expertise. The Governor of New York State appoints the Chairman and two additional members; SUNY Polytechnic Institute appoints two members; and the Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Rochester each appoint one member. The Photonics Institute Board of Officers is comprised of: John Maggiore, Chair, Governor appointee; Anne Kress, Governor appointee; Bob Megna, Governor appointee; Bahgat Sammakia, SUNY Poly appointee; Jeff Cheek, SUNY Poly appointee; Ryne Raffaele, Rochester Institute of Technology appointee; and Rob Clark, University of Rochester appointee.
 
Accelerating Finger Lakes Forward
Today’s announcement complements “Finger Lakes Forward,” the region’s comprehensive blueprint to generate robust economic growth and community development. The State has already invested more than $5.2 billion in the region since 2012 to lay the groundwork for the plan – investing in key industries including photonics, agriculture‎ and food production, and advanced manufacturing. Today, unemployment is down to the lowest levels since before the Great Recession; personal and corporate income taxes are down; and businesses are choosing places like Rochester, Batavia and Canandaigua as a destination to grow and invest in.  Now, the region is accelerating Finger Lakes Forward with a $500 million State investment through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, announced by Governor Cuomo in December 2015. The State’s $500 million investment will incentivize private business to invest well over $2.5 billion – and the region’s plan, as submitted, projects up to 8,200 new jobs. More information is available here.