Sycamore and Optical are just an early rumbling in the tectonic shift that has begun shaking the telecommunications industry: the move to optical networking, the hottest new market in high tech.

FORBES: Hooked on photonics

Like his high tech counterpart, Rathmann has an uncanny knack for timing: He pinpointed a new industry ripe for rapid growth, one that needed both a technologist and an entrepreneur.

FORBES: Biotechnology All-Stars

On Thursday, I visited a new, high-tech factory in Michigan where workers are helping America lead the way in a growing clean energy industry.

WHITEHOUSE: Weekly Address: Putting the American People First