Montana Pioneers in Photonics and Optics

Roger Robichaud - Founder of the First Optics Company in the Gallatin Valley

After leaving New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Research Lab in 1980, Roger Robichaud established Orionics—the first Montana photonics and optics company. Based in Bozeman, Orionics manufactured optical fiber and test equipment. Robichaud and his fellow photonics pioneers were drawn to the Gallatin Valley due to the great quality of life and Montana State University (MSU)’s innovative engineering and science programs. Robichaud frequently hired graduate students from MSU for part-time research and development work at Orionics, cementing a history of collaboration between Bozeman’s photonics and optics companies and the university. In 1985, Robichaud sold Orionics, but its legacy as the catalyst for Montana’s robust photonics and optics industry lives on.

Ralph Hutcheson - Creator of the Synthetic Ruby Crystal that Powered the World’s First Laser

Ralph Hutcheson was born in 1932 in Havre, Montana. After graduating from Montana State University in 1954 with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, Hutcheson worked for Union Carbide in Indiana, where he received an unusual request for a polished rod of synthetic ruby the size of a pencil eraser. Hutcheson’s unique creation was used by an engineer named Theodore Maiman in the 1960s to create the world’s first laser. In 1989, Hutcheson continued his work with synthetic crystals and lasers by founding Scientific Materials Corporation in Bozeman. Hutcheson enlisted the help of graduate students and Dr. Rufus Cone at MSU to help analyze the properties of the synthetic crystals he produced, continuing the tradition of collaboration between MSU and Bozeman’s photonics and optics companies.

Dr. Rufus Cone - Co-founder of MSU’s Spectrum Lab

Dr. Rufus Cone began his teaching career at Montana State University in 1974 and soon became a Distinguished Professor of Letters and Science. Specializing in spectroscopy, Dr. Cone collaborated with Ralph Hutcheson and Scientific Materials Corporation in the late 1980s to analyze the structure of synthetic crystals where he and Hutchesons stumbled upon a crystal with unprecedented properties. This discovery led to Dr. Cone’s involvement in co-founding the MSU Spectrum Lab in 1999 to help advance and commercialize the opto-electronic technologies emerging from MSU’s research laboratories. Dr. Cone has played an instrumental role in developing the technology used by Montana photonics companies as well as mentoring students working in the rapidly growing industry.

Dr. John Carlsten - Co-founder and First Director of MSU’s OpTeC Center

Dr. John Carlsten arrived at Montana State University in 1984 as part of a collaborative program between the Los Alamos National Laboratory and MSU. Driving a U-Haul truck full of millions of dollars worth of optics laboratory equipment from New Mexico to Montana, Dr. Carlsten helped establish an optics lab for MSU’s Department of Physics where he taught for over 30 years. In 1992, Dr. Carlsten, Dr. Cone, and other MSU researchers and administrators submitted a successful grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to create MSU’s Optical Technology Center (OpTeC) with the mission of expanding the capability for photonics research and education in Montana. Dr. Carlsten served as OpTeC’s director from 1992-1997.

Interviews with Roger Robichaud and Ralph Hutcheson, early Montana optics company founders.

Interviews with Dr. Rufus Cone and Dr. John Carlsten, early Montana optics researchers.

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