The NSF OPAL – NSF STELLAR Connection
In July 2026, the National Science Foundation awarded $15 million to launch the NSF STELLAR Engine, a regional innovation initiative aimed at establishing the Rochester and Finger Lakes region of New York as a national leader for laser technology, workforce development, and manufacturing. That announcement has direct implications for NSF OPAL, a next-generation, world-leading laser facility currently in the design phase at the University of Rochester. NSF STELLAR and NSF OPAL share goals around research, supply chain development, and workforce development.
The NSF STELLAR Engine, short for Science, Technology and Engineering for Laser and Laser Applications Research, was established through the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, created under the CHIPS and Science Act to build innovation ecosystems across the United States. The award could grow to as much as $160 million over ten years and is matched by $16 million in New York State support over the next six years.
The initiative brings together URochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, Greater Rochester Enterprise, NextCorps, Luminate, and New York State. It is set against a regional base of more than 150 optics, photonics, imaging, and laser technology that helped make the case for Rochester as a national laser innovation leader.
Where the Two Initiatives Intersect
Designed to be a world-leading laser user facility, NSF OPAL will engage with the NSF STELLAR Engine as part of its “extreme lasers” theme, addressing shared priorities in research and development, supply chain resilience, and workforce training. The engagement is expected to strengthen connections between NSF OPAL’s science and technology developments and partners across national security, advanced manufacturing, nanofabrication, and other sectors.
Materials, Supply Chain, and Photonics Innovation
The NSF STELLAR Engine is positioned to leverage research opportunities for next-generation optical materials and components for high-power lasers, building on priorities identified through a workshop cosponsored by NSF OPAL and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. NSF OPAL has also initiated supply-chain development with regional optics suppliers affiliated with the NSF STELLAR Engine: Corning, EvolvOptic, and startup company Evenline, which are developing methods to manufacture low-cost, high-performance mirrors for NSF OPAL and high-power lasers generally. Plymouth Grating Laboratory, Massachusetts company with roots in Rochester and a STELLAR partner, is expanding its capability to manufacture diffraction gratings needed for NSF OPAL and a broad range of lasers used in scientific research, fusion, and national security.
Separately, technology transfer is underway to Sydor Technologies for a midscale plasma-electrode Pockels cell (mPEPC) system developed at LLE, which enables the compact, kilojoule-class lasers needed to pump NSF OPAL’s optical parametric amplifiers — technology in demand at research facilities worldwide. Novel liquid-crystal (LC) optics developed locally are also finding wider applications: Massachusetts-based Seurat Technologies uses LC “light valves” built on LLE-developed technology to enable foundry-scale additive manufacturing, while researchers at Ohio State University have used LC films to develop plasma mirrors that improve the temporal contrast of ultrafast lasers and help protect laser systems from damaging back reflections.
AI and Smart Lasers
NSF OPAL’s design aims to incorporate artificial intelligence throughout the future facility, guiding experiments, analyzing data, and optimizing operations. That effort aligns closely with an NSF STELLAR Engine priority to develop a new generation of “smart lasers” capable of self-monitoring and learning to maximize their own performance and reliability.
Education and Workforce Development
The NSF STELLAR Engine’s education and workforce programs, spanning early outreach through advanced degree programs, are expected to grow the regional pipeline of scientists, engineers, and technicians needed for NSF OPAL and the broader regional laser industry — expanding career opportunities in what organizers describe as a virtuous cycle of talent and innovation.
Looking Ahead
As the NSF STELLAR Engine’s startup phase gets underway, NSF OPAL’s design-phase team expects these connections — in materials and supply chain, AI-driven facility operations, and regional workforce development — to deepen. Once built, NSF OPAL is designed to draw on the same regional ecosystem the NSF STELLAR Engine is working to strengthen, reinforcing Rochester and the Finger Lakes region’s position at the center of the nation’s laser technology future.