In This Issue

New Products & Capabilities
Photonics North
Zygo Gets Tender Offer
ITAR... Do You Still Have Questions?
Book Review: Just Listen
Conferences

Photonics West 2010

80 New York Companies will be exhibiting at Photonics West in San Francisco at the end of the month. That is more companies from any single state in the USA, and more than any other country.

We hope to see you there!

SBIR Reauthorization

Congress reconvenes on Jan. 19, 2010, so Representatives are in their home offices until then. The Small Business Technology Council wants concerned citizens to visit them and/or their staffs before Jan. 19 and ask them to urge the House Small Business Committee to work with the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee to reauthorize the SBIR program before it expires on Jan. 31, 2010.

The reconciliation between the House and Senate versions of the SBIR program is being conducted by the staffs of the two committees. The Senate staffs have been very diligent in proposing compromises that SBTC supports. The House staff has not taken this as a critical issue and has delayed our important program through six Continuing Resolutions over 18 months!

Here is the status:

1. The Senate and the House both passed bills for reauthorization of the SBIR program and the two bills must now be reconciled by the staffs of the commit-tees.

2. The differences between the Senate position and the House is that the House favors:

(a) providing considerably more access for VC control of SBIR companies;

(b) much larger Phase I and Phase II awards;

(d) reauthorizing the program for only 2 years instead of the Senate’s 14 years.

For more information click here.

Zygo gets unsolicited offer from II-VI

Shares Jump

Offer values Zygo at about $170 mln
Offer of $10/shr represents premium of 35%
Zygo shares jump 47%, II-VI falls about 3%

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Zygo Corp said it received an unsolicited $10 per share offer from II-VI Inc (IIVI.O), representing a 35.5 percent premium to the stock's Wednesday close.

Shares of Zygo surged as much as 47 percent to $10.87 Thursday morning, January 7, suggesting that investors expect a higher bid. The stock was trading at $10.82 on Wednesday morning, January 13.

II-VI's cash-or-stock offer values Zygo at about $170 million, based on about 17 million shares outstanding as on Sept. 30, 2009.

Zygo plans to hire an independent financial advisor to evaluate the proposal, it said in a statement.

The company also said it is in the late stages of implementing a substantial reorganization of its business.

Last year, Zygo had ended an agreement with Electro Scientific Industries Inc (ESIO.O), which had offered about $173.5 million for the company.

Shares of Zygo were trading up 41 percent at $10.40 Thursday morning the 6th on Nasdaq. They touched $10.87 -- their highest since October 2008 -- earlier in the session.

II-VI shares touched a low of $31.57, before paring some losses to trade down about 3 percent at $31.85. The stock was trading at around $30 on Wednesday January 13th.

XX-VI is here.

Zygo's statement is here.

James Werbb Space Telescope

New videos about the MIRI detectors and telescope sunshields are part of an on-going series called "Behind the Webb" about the James Webb Space Telescope. It was produced and created by the Space Science Telescope Institute (STScI) of Baltimore, Md. Part of the video was shot at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in January 2009.

See the videos here.

Optimax Promotes Doublet Expertise

Optimax is a world leader at glass to glass bonding of precision optical components.

Doublet making is often misunderstood, so Optimax has recently completed two technical papers on doublet assemblies and has posted them to their website here. These papers, Considerations in Manufacturing Cemented Assemblies and Assembly Method Considerations for Cemented Assemblies talk about options in constructing a doublet lens assembly and techniques in communicating significant items. For more information, contact Brandon Light at blight[.at.]optimaxsi.com

The Entrepreneur Network

The Entrepreneur's Network is now accepting applications for its next class, which begins Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Based on best practices of leading entrepreneurial training, education and networking programs, TEN's mission is to grow life sciences, technology-based, and/or scalable, high-revenue potential firms across the upstate region.

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Location:
Eleanor Morris Ballroom
Eisenhart Auditorium
Rochester Museum & Science Center
657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606-2177

RSVP Registration Required by Tuesday, January 19

Three ways to register:

Online: www.ten-ny.org/node/77
By Email: jeankase@ten-ny.org
By Phone: 585-753-2033

Photonics North

Register Now To Exhibit

PRODUCT SHOWCASE
June 2nd and 3rd, 2010

For more information please contact: Michel Walters, Exhibits Coordinator: 418-522-8182 - 800-618-8182

PRIORITY ALLOCATION OF SPACE

Criteria 1: Corporate Sponsors
All those companies who are Photonics North 2010 Corporate Sponsors will be offered first selection of booth space. They have until January 31, 2010 to submit an application for exhibit space and February 28, 2010 to effect payment. Space will be assigned in the order in which applications are received.

Criteria 2:
Repeating exhibitors, but not Corporate Sponsors, will have until February 28, 2010 to submit an application for exhibit space and March 31, 2010 to effect payment. Space will be assigned in the order in which applications are received, after Criteria 1 exhibitors have been placed and also considering seniority

Criteria 3: Others
All those companies not meeting the criteria 1 or 2 exhibitors will be assigned space in the order in which their applications are received. Payment is to be submitted according to the Exhibitor registration form.

Events and Conferences

If you know any high school juniors who might be candidates for the LLE High School Research Summer Program, pay attention in early February. That is when the application process begins.

SPIE Photonics West
23 - 28 January, 2010
San Francisco, California, USA

OP-TEC
Workshop on Optics & Photonics Education
4 -5, February 2010
Monroe Comunity College
Rochester, New York

Optical Fabrication & Testing
13 - 16 June, 2010
Jackson Hole, Wyoming

SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing
5 - 9 April, 2010
Orlando, Florida, USA

CLEO / QUELS 2010
16 - 21 May, 2010
San Jose, California

Optatec
15 -18 June, 2010
Frankfurt, Germany

OSA Annual / Frontiers In Optics
24 - 28 October, 2010
Rochester, New York

What is ITAR about?

The Basics

Do you make components as a subcontractor for a defense contractor? Have you received drawings from your customer stamped “ITAR”? Do you send drawings involving these defense jobs to foreign suppliers? Do your engineers ever have telephone conversations or webinars with counterparts in a foreign country? Do you make components for foreign militia? Do you ever have foreign visitors tour your plant? Do you have foreign workers in your plant?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, chances are you are involved with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, commonly referred to as ITAR.

ITAR are regulations issued by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, a division of the U.S. Department of State. The purpose of ITAR is to regulate the export of defense articles, services or defense-related technical data. One might conclude that your company does not have to worry about ITAR because your company does not “export” defense products; all shipments are to customers in the U.S. However, the worry of violating ITAR is not so quickly dismissed.

First of all, ITAR requires all manufacturers of defense related products or components to register with the DDTC. This registration requirement applies whether or not you only export or ship domestically. If you are in the supply chain of a defense contractor or the military, you may have received a questionnaire or certification requesting that you verify that your company is registered with the DDTC. If your company is not registered you cannot receive any ITAR work, no matter how far down the supply chain your company may be.

Second, the word “export” is broadly defined. Under the ITAR regulations an “export” does not only refer to shipping a component or product to a foreign country, but it also refers to the disclosure of ITAR technical data and/or the provision of defense services to a foreign person or entity. The foreign person could be a foreign country, company, visitor or employee. Also, you may send ITAR controlled data to a U.S. supplier and feel that you do not have any ITAR concerns. However, what if your domestic supplier has foreign employees or visitors?

It is important to know if an order is an ITAR controlled job. If the customer is a U.S. defense contractor, the company will probably notify you by stamping the drawings with the ITAR designation. However, if you get an order from a foreign company for a defense related part or if you get a domestic order for a component that has a military use but is unmarked, you will either have to inquire of the customer or do your own review of the U.S. Munitions List to determine if the product, component, data or service is on the list. If it is, it is ITAR controlled. If you are going to “export” the product, component, data or services to a foreign person, you will need a license from the DDTC for that job or person.

In order to insure compliance, the DDTC encourages that any company handling ITAR drawings or data adopt and enforce a Technology Control Plan. Any company routinely involved with ITAR is encouraged to adopt an Export Management System.

If you need help with understanding ITAR or knowing more about any aspect of this article, please call Gerald F. Wahl, Esq. at Bansbach Zoghlin PC at 585-227-2610 or write to gwahl[.at.]banszog.com . Wahl is also the corporate counsel for Optimax Systems, Inc. and Harbec Plastics, Inc.

Both OSA and SPIE noticed that ITAR was a major issue for many of their members.

OSA's latest offering in educating their members about ITAR is coming up.

Learn Essential Information about ITAR and EAR Export Regulation Controls
in the Optics, Laser, and Photonics Industries

Each webinar will include relevant case studies designed to help you understand how to gain control of your export compliance processes and minimize business risk in today's global marketplace.

Webinar #1: Export Administration Regulations (EAR): Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Webinar #2: International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR): Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Webinar #3: Establishing an Export Compliance Strategy and Manual for Your Company: Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Webinar Package: Includes all 3 Webinars (Save 10%): Pre-Registration Deadline: January 27, 2010

The session are targeted at senior executives and all managers involved in Operations, Engineering, Logistics, Sales & Marketing, Legal, Compliance, Risk Management.

Registration Information is here.
Pre-Registration Deadline Webinar #1 and Webinar Package: January 27, 2010

Pre-Registration Rates

OSA Corporate Members: One Webinar - $50; Webinar Package - $135

Non-members: One Webinar - $150; Webinar Package: $405

Book Review

Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

By Mark Goulston

Published by American Management Association

221 pages

Reviewed by Jennifer Sertl

Everywhere I turn I am being advised to leverage social media. There is even the new concept of 33 million people in the room. With so many channels and methods to communicate to higher levels of influence and greater numbers in an audience, it is refreshing to know that the playing field is still relatively flat. Just because you have access to people, doesn't mean that you are making IMPACT. Mark Goulston's, Just Listen is filled with realistic scenarios, assessment tests, and a real candid mirror.

If you aren't getting the results you want in your personal or professional life, there is probably a reason within your control you probably aren't an effective communicator.

In pure Gouldston style you are hit right between the eyes. In Section II Goulston shares his nine core rules:

Move yourself from oh F#@& to OK
Rewire yourself to listen
Make the other person feel felt
Be more interested than interesting
Make people feel valuable
Help people to exhale emotionally and mentally
Check your dissonance at the door
When all seems lost bare your neck
Steer clear of toxic people

You might read over this list andìyeah, yeah, yeah I do those things already. Do you? Do you really? What makes Just Listen so powerful is that Goulston shares several examples where he was out of alignment with these nine core rules. His transparency forces the reader to be more reflective and take personal responsibility.

Creating dissonance is the barrier I most need to resolve. I could see myself in several of the practical scenarios outlined. Having raised awareness I was sure this week would be different. The hardest part about being human is . . . well, being human. We think we are smart, using our prefrontal cortexówhere long term decision making, cause-effect thinking take place-and then we make a choice just a little wiser than a reptile. Bottom line isójust because we are aware of something that needs to change; that awareness doesnít guarantee change. Being effective truly requires introspection, practice and patience. ìJust Listenî is not a quick read. It is a workbook, a playbook, and flight plan. For the wisdom here to truly support sustainable progress, you might be keeping it as accessible as your blackberry.

Sales managers, marriage counselors, teachers, and spouses Just Listen is the greatest gift you could give yourself to enhance your own awareness and ability to reach those who are most important to you. Just read!

Jennifer Sertl is an executive coach and author of Strategy Leadership and the Soul you can reach her at 585.704.5202 or jennifersertl@agility3r.com and follow her on twitter.

RRPC / New York Photonics Annual Meeting

How does one acquire the coveted RRPC Newsletter Cub Reporter Badge?

New York Photonics and the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster are active and growing collaborative organizations. Efforts are under way on joint training events, workforce development, collaborative advertising opportunities, promoting the commercialization of I.P., and the development of our website to further facillitate business development.

Join us! There are advantages to working together, and we are interested in working with you. Send an email to us at membership@rrpc-ny.org.

To subscribe, to unsubscribe, to submit a news item or upcoming event, to suggest a feature or column, or to offer feedback, contact Tom Battley, at 585-329-4029.

New York Photonics and The Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC) are not-for-profit organizations founded to promote and enhance the New York State photonics, optics and imaging industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government.