Partnership Brings Laser Photonics to Wekiva High School

Orange County Public Schools, Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Laser Systems business unit and Valencia Community College publicly announced the formation of Florida’s first high school Laser Photonics Academy, at Wekiva High School.

The Wekiva High School Laser Photonics Career Academy enables students to combine academic course work with practical hands-on learning experiences using state-of-the-art equipment. It will prepare students for a career in laser photonics. The academy is open to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average and allows them to earn 48 college credits if they successfully complete the four-year program. Students will have the flexibility to enter the workforce right after graduation, or continue their formal education at the college level.
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[Used with permission from the 14 December 2009 newsletter of the Manufacturer's Association of Central Florida (MACF - www.macf.biz).]

Jim Lipscomb Receives Award for Outstanding Contributor of the Year from the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida (MACF)

Suzanne & Jim Lipscomb at MACF annual dinner where Jim received award for Outstanding Contributor of the Year from the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida (MACF). Jim is with Northrop Grumman Corporation, Laser Systems (NGC/LS) in Apopka, Florida. NGC/LS is a member of the Florida Photonics Cluster (FPC) and a Bronze sponsor of the FPC.

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[Posted with permission from the 14 December 2009 newsletter of the Manufacturer's Association of Central Florida (MACF - www.macf.biz)]

FPC Member represents American optics interests in Berlin ISO meeting

Ray Williamson Consulting, an FPC member, represented American optics interests in a recent Berlin ISO meeting. Good international standards facilitate commerce, but writing them is not easy. This is the job of ISO, and the U.S. supports ISO's optics standards through ANSI's Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Committee (OEOSC.)

Ray Williamson, as a voting expert in OEOSC, volunteers time at OEOSC meetings several times per year, edits American and ISO documents, and attends ISO meetings. In November 2009, he was part of the American delegation in Berlin along with Allen Krisiloff of Triptar Lens Company, David Aikens of Savvy Optics, Marla Dowell of NIST, and Gordon Boultbee of JDSU.

Ray's major effort this year was fixing numerous problems in ISO 10110-6 (centering tolerances) and adding definitions and and notations for runout and beam deviation at the request of American manufacturers. The new version is expected to be available in 2011.

Florida Venture Capital Conference

The Florida Venture Forum is holding its 2010 Florida Venture Capital Conference 2-3 February 2010 at the Omni Orlando Resort. Full information on the event, registration, and sponsorship opportunities are online at www.floridaventureforum.org.

Schedule for OC Grant Consulting Capacity Building Seminarsfor 2010

Are you inspired to start a new non-profit organization? Are you a new non-profit who have not obtained 501c3 tax exemption? Do you want to increase your chances of obtaining funding for a new or existing program?. If you answered yes to any of the above, the Capacity Building Seminar Series is the right training for you. These seminars are designed for aspiring or new nonprofit Executives, Managers, Administrator and leaders of grassroots, faith and community-based organizations.

Capacity Building Seminars for Non-profit Faith and Community-based Organizations

Seminar I: How to Start a Non-profit Organization & Obtain 501(c) 3 Exemption – 01/9/2010
Seminar II: Board Development for New Nonprofits – 01/23/2010 Seminar III: Program Design & Planning – 01/30/2010 Seminar IV: Volunteer Management – 02/13/2010
Seminar V: Introduction to Grant Writing – 02/27/2010


All Seminars will be held at the Orlando Business Development Center-District 2
3218 E. Colonial Drive, Suite G
Orlando, Florida 32803 (Colonial Landing Shopping Plaza)
All Seminars are held Saturdays 9:00-11:30 a.m.
All Seminars are $25.00 each. Register for 4 Seminars and the 5th is Free.
Register on-line at www.ocgrantconsulting.com



OC Grant Consulting Associates LLC
Orlando Business Development Center,
3218 E. Colonial Dr. Suite G
Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: 321-281-8346 Fax: 321-281-8380

Florida Today: Photonics holds promise for job creation

Several FPC members recently corresponded with a writer at Florida Today on an article about the importance of photonics to the state of Florida. You can now view the article online (see below). I've also extracted it in a WORD version (see attached). It's a fine article on photonics and its job creation potential in Florida. I'm quoted in it as are Keith Riffee (Triple Play Communications), Jennifer Ogburn (Harris Corp.), and Warren Seale (Gooch & Housego).

To view the contents on www.floridatoday.com, go to: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200912060108/BUSINESS/912060311

Jim Pearson
FPC Executive Director

UCF Community Jobs Forum

Community Jobs Forum

Friday, December 11, 2009 3 to 5 p.m.
University of Central Florida

Receive an invitation with an RSVP to tbryer@mail.ucf.edu.

• The forum is free and open to the public.
  
• The Community Jobs Forum offers Central Florida community members an opportunity to share insights and ideas on ways to create jobs in the current
  economic climate.
  
• The forum was planned in response to a recent call from the White House for community leaders to host job forums.
  
• The information gathered at the forum will be shared in a report submitted directly to the White House administration.
  
• Last year, UCF’s Department of Public Administration held a community forum on health care in response to a similar call from the White House. The forum was one of four out of 3,276 conducted around the country to be featured in a final report from the White House administration.

LightPath Technologies New Product Announcement

LightPath Technologies Introduces RoHS compliant, High Index Molded Glass
Aspheres for telecommunications systems.

(December 1, 2009) Orlando, FL. LightPath Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPTH - News), is pleased to announce the introduction of a new family of RoHS compliant, high index of refraction molded glass aspheric lenses designed specifically to for the telecommunications market.

Molded aspheric lenses made from lead based glasses have long been used in laser to fiber coupling systems inside of transceiver packages. RoHS compliance has been difficult to achieve based on the high performance requirements of these systems and the inherent capabilities of lead based glasses. LightPath Technologies has developed a set of lenses that replaces LightPath’s current lead-glass based products and meets the RoHS standards. Current demand for LightPath’s family of new RoHS compliant lenses is strong. The requirement for these lenses is being driven by the infrastructure upgrade for 3G wireless networks and new networks in developing countries, such as China which has over 700 million subscribers and continues to grow. LightPath Technologies is currently manufacturing these lenses in production
volumes through our facility in Shanghai, China.

Contacts: Ray Pini, Director of Marketing
LightPath Technologies, Inc.
Phone: (407) 382-4003
Email: rpini@lightpath.com
Internet: www.lightpath.com

This news release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute
to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed by LightPath Technologies, Inc. in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
GRADIUM® is a registered trademark of LightPath Technologies

House R&D Caucus hears about light-based innovation in SPIE-sponsored briefing

SPIE sponsored an R&D Caucus event in DC last week and according to SPIE it went well; the program was excellent. The ppts and audio have been posted in the SPIE newsroom at http://spie.org/x38175.xml. The FPC and UCF federal relations staff were among those encouraging this interaction to increase the visibility of how important photonics is to advances in biotech, energy, and other high-priority areas.

UCF Research & Commercialization Nationally Noted in FY 2009

The power of research & commercialization at UCF was noted in a variety of publications in FY 2009 and a newly released annual report includes a selection of those articles that cited the strength of UCF's patents, the impact of research grants on the Central Florida economy and UCF's contributions to the innovation economy.

You can read about what others say about UCF and ORC here, in the ORC's FY 2009 Annual Report: http://www.research.ucf.edu/AnnualReport.html

Congratulations to MJ Soileau, VP for Research, and to Tom O'Neal, Assoc. VP for Research & Commercialization, and all the ORC staff, on the fine recognition and on a great year for ORC!

Register Now for the Community College Conference on Legal Issues

EARLY- BIRD REGISTRATION RATES OFFERED THROUGH JANUARY 5th

Register Now for the Community College Conference on Legal Issues
An opportunity to increase your confidence in handling challenging situations on the job and to update your knowledge of the constantly evolving laws that impact your work.

Join your colleagues for the Community College Conference on Legal Issues at The Peabody Orlando, January 31 – February 2, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. Attendance will allow opportunities to examine case studies, scenarios, policies and best practices on key topics relevant to the distinctive legal challenges community colleges face.

Hosted by Valencia Community College, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Council on Education, Florida Association of Community Colleges, the College Board, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys, this dynamic conference addresses the complex issues, current trends, and numerous legal matters unique to community colleges. Conference sessions will serve as a forum for communication among front-line workers and practitioners at all levels. Come join us as we learn from the experts and consider how we each can apply what we learn in areas including:

Campus safety and emergency preparedness
Recruitment and hiring practices
Discrimination and harassment
Considerations of race and diversity factors
Student privacy issues
Intellectual property
ADA compliance
Employee relations
Social networking
First Amendment rights

Register early and receive a discount!

Early-Bird Registration ends January 5, 2010.

For more information, visit www.valenciacc.edu/communitycollegelaw or call Valencia's Conference & Meeting Planning Services at 407-582-3219. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando! Sincerely,

Bill MullowneyVice President for Policy and General CounselValencia Community Collegebmullowney@valenciacc.edu

Susan KelleyVice President for Institutional AdvancementValencia Community Collegeskelley@valenciacc.edu