Duncan Moore to be President of International Optical Group

Duncan Moore, the Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Professor of Optical Engineering, has been elected president of the International Commission for Optics (ICO).

Moore is just the fourth American elected president of the commission, which was formed in 1947. The ICO, originally founded to help rebuild the optics communities in Europe and Japan after WWII, is now focused on providing support for optics and photonics in developing economies.

"Duncan is a leader, whether in promoting the University's interests in entrepreneurship or our nation's science and technology policy," said Rob Clark, dean of the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Rochester. "He is highly regarded for his work in optics, and his new international role is well-deserved."

One of Moore's goals as ICO president is to promote technical entrepreneurship and to encourage researchers in the field to look for market opportunities. "In order to grow the economy of any region," said Moore, "we need to have people who can evaluate technologies and determine if there is a business opportunity."

Moore would also like to expand ICO membership in Africa, which only has three countries represented in the organization: Sudan, Senegal, and Tunisia.

Moore calls it a "real honor" to be only the fourth American president in the 64 year history of the organization. He believes his experience in business and entrepreneurship were factors in his election.

In 1988, Moore began teaching what he believes to be the first technical entrepreneurship class of its kind—comprised of half MBA candidates and half engineering graduate students. Still taught today, the course is required for students in the University's new master's program, Technical Entrepreneurship and Management.

Along with being a professor of optical engineering, Moore is a professor of business administration and area coordinator for entrepreneurship in the Simon Graduate School of Business and vice provost for entrepreneurship. As vice provost, Moore leads the University's Center for Entrepreneurship, launched in 2006 with grant funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Moore received his Ph.D. and master's degree in optics from the University of Rochester. He begins his three-year term as president on Oct. 1.

To see the official press release, click here.