Rochester Lives

This book provides forty-five profiles of the people that made Rochester, New York, and those who lived in New York's third-largest city. Rochester became known as the "World's Image Center" because it was the home of the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics, Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, and over ninety imaging and optics firms, including Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch and Lomb. This downsizing of these companies has not quite been offset by this growth of small and medium-sized high-tech firms. However, in the second decade of twenty-first century, Rochester was named the country's Center for Photonics. This book also provides twelve stories about Rochester.

Emerson Klees of Rochester, NY

Emerson Klees is the editor / publisher of Cameo Press. He is also the author of thirty books, half about New York State and the Finger Lakes Region and half collective biographies of role models of human values, such as perseverance, motivation, determination, resilience, and creativity.  He has a B.S. in electrical engineering, Penn State University, major: electronics, a M.B.A. from New York University, major: management, minor: statistics, and a M.A. in English literature (creative writing track) from the State University of New York at Brockport. For six years, he was an adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology College of Business teaching courses in entrepreneurship and business organization.

      He is a member of the New Society of the Genesee Historical Association, past member of the New York State Historical Society and the Rochester / Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission, as well as past member and vice president of the New York State Regional Publishers Association. His awards include two first places and two second places in the E.  H. Corron National Historical Essay Contest.