With an Open House, four presentations, a Plenary Session panel, and Student Day sponsorship, AmeriCOM is in full swing for Optifab 2025:
Monday, October 20, 2025
AmeriCOM’s Mike Pomerantz, Director of Engineering, will present Full-aperture high-speed deterministic polishing to support fully automated optics fabrication. This presentation will touch on advances in CNC, full-aperture deterministic polishing, aiming to automate high-volume optics fabrication and strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness in defense and security applications. The presentation happens October 20, 2025, 8:20 AM – 8:40 AM.
For more detail, visit this link.
AmeriCOM’s Chief Scientist, Justin Sigley will present Round robin study of optical loss measurements of high reflectivity laser line mirrors. The presentation will look at a multi-company round robin study compares CRDS and PCI methods, revealing reproducibility challenges in laser optics loss measurements and underscoring the need for calibration standards, protocols, and industry training. Justin also presents an alternative metrology method for high energy laser optics that avoids the pitfalls of CRDS and PCI measurements. The presentation happens October 20, 2025, 4:10 PM – 4:30 PM.
For more details, visit this link.
AMERICOM OPEN HOUSE
Join us! AmeriCOM is holding an Open House and tours of the COM-Lab and ODIS, the Army/Optimax High-Energy Laser (HEL) Optics Defect Inspection System — delivering the fastest data results in the U.S. Now available for testing at AmeriCOM.
Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, 3:00-5:00 PM. Stop in to network, have an afternoon snack, and take a tour. This is a great way to kick off your Optifab week.
RSVP here.
78 Schuyler Baldwin Drive, Fairport, NY 14450.
Follow the signs around to the back of the building.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
PLENARY SESSION: Infrared Optical Materials: Supply Chain in 2025 — AmeriCOM’s President & CEO, Dave Shelton will be among the speakers who will address the state of the supply chain for infrared optical materials. Attendees will get an insider look at the feedstocks and supply chains of the primary infrared optical materials—germanium, zinc sulfide, zinc selenide, silicon, and chalcogenide glasses. We’ll also explore how recent geopolitical considerations are shaping the industry and hear about potential strategies to ensure future supply chain resilience. This session happens October 21, 2025, 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM. For details, visit this link.
WORKFORCE—AmeriCOM’s Mike Pomerantz and Alexis Vogt, and Gregory Savich of MCC are among the co-authors of Engaging Industry Partners in Optics Technician Training: Monroe Community College’s Model for Photonics Workforce Development, which will be presented by MCC’s Robert J. Parada Jr. It will highlight Monroe Community College’s strategies—industry partnerships, internships, mentoring, and advisory boards—that strengthen optics technician education, motivate students, and support photonics workforce growth through direct employer engagement. The presentation takes place October 21, 2025, 11:10 AM – 11:30 AM. For details, visit this link.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
STUDENT DAY — AmeriCOM, along with Optimax, LaCroix Optics, and Universal Photonics will sponsor SPIE’s Optifab 2025 Student Day. Hundreds of students from area high school and colleges will attend Optifab to learn about this exciting field and engage with industry professionals. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt that will take them to many company exhibit booths where they can ask questions and learn more about the many career opportunities that are available in the optics field. This session takes place, October 23, 2025, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
For more details, visit this link.