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<DESCRIPTION>ASK JOE COLUMN DATED NOVEMBER 26, 2008
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                       Ask Joe


             "You want to know ask Joe."

                  November 26, 2008



It has been quite awhile since my last Ask Joe column, and of
course the world economy has changed dramatically since then.
Household names that seemed invulnerable are no longer in
business. Someone recently commented to me that if you asked
one thousand people in November 2007 whether it was more
likely that Lehman Brothers or Research Frontiers would be in
business a year later, all one thousand people would have been
wrong. Market valuations are down dramatically, and this is so
widespread that recently the Nasdaq suspended two of its listing
requirements regarding minimum stock price and minimum
market valuation across the board.

In the 1970s, the US economy was rocked by an oil crisis, a
prime rate of around 21%, and high and spiraling inflation. The
economy recovered. In the early 1980s, the US went through a
deep recession. At the time, I was working at the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York as a country desk economist and I
saw the economic turmoil, and the responses of various world
governments and central banks to help remedy the situation.
Paul Volcker was Fed Chairman at the time and the world
economy once again recovered and then thrived. Since I entered
the business world and joined Research Frontiers in 1992, there
have similarly been a series of strong and weak economic
periods, and turmoil in the global financial and stock markets.
Not only has Research Frontiers survived during these difficult
periods, in many ways it has also thrived as an innovative
company with a leadership position and strong intellectual
property portfolio in the emerging smart glass industry. We
have successfully licensed world-class chemical companies and
virtually all of the world's major glass companies to use SPD
technology. Several of the world's largest automotive and
aircraft manufacturers have ongoing development, testing and
production programs to introduce automobiles and aircraft
incorporating the world's best performing SPD-Smart windows
and other products. Homes and commercial buildings are now
beginning to use next-generation SPD-Smart windows, and
more recently, some yachts have been produced incorporating
SPD-Smart glass to control light, heat and glare on the water.
Together with our licensees, we have developed a new and
growing industry around SPD-Smart light-control technology,
created a supply infrastructure with global reach, and developed
potentially large markets for SPD-Smart products in the
automotive, aircraft, marine and architectural industries.

Although our SPD light-control technology contains highly
efficient crystals, I do not have a crystal ball. I cannot advise
people how or where they should invest their hard-earned
money. However, I would like to share some personal
observations about the state of Research Frontiers and our
business, and that of our licensees and their customers.

First, I would like to start with the fundamentals. At our current
rate of expenditures, Research Frontiers has enough cash
reserves to last it until some time during the second quarter of
2010, not counting any royalty income from product sales
between now and then. As of September 30, 2008, we had over
$5.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and US Treasury
Securities, and we have been debt-free since 1986. In other
words, we are in good financial shape and have very predicable
and modest capital needs.

In our most recent quarterly report, and largely because of a
one-time payment by one of our former licensees for past
royalties, we reported the first profit in the Company's history.
Even if this one-time payment is excluded, fee income in the
most recently reported third quarter was higher than fee income
for the previous quarter. Also, as noted in our Annual Report
and elsewhere, this year we and our licensees solved some
technical issues that were previously hindering product sales by
substantially improving the adhesive strength of the SPD
light-control film. As with most adjustments in a technology, it
took several months for these improvements to make their way
from the lab to the production line. However, orders are now
being filled and production capacity is not only ramping up
again, but substantial additional production capacity is
scheduled to come online as well. This increasing level of
business activity is not isolated to one licensee, but is occurring
at several key licensees at the same time. Similarly, at the
customer level, in various industries including the very
important (because of their size and predictability) automotive
and aircraft industries, SPD-related economic activity in each
industry is being driven by multiple important customers.

Recently, I returned from an extended trip to Europe, Japan and
North America. I covered almost 20,000 miles in those ten days
and visited licensees, met with major customers of our licensees,
and attended several trade shows. Part of the purpose of this trip
was the usual customer service to make sure that our licensees
and their major customers were getting the support that they
need from Research Frontiers' technical and marketing
departments so that they could accomplish their goals as quickly
as possible as they build substantial businesses around SPD
technology. Another purpose was for me to see first-hand how
the current world economic situation has impacted our licensees
and their major customers. I am pleased to report that our key
licensees around the world remain active and are growing their
respective SPD businesses even in these uncertain economic
times. Of course, over the past several months especially, every
company and industry has had to face unprecedented
challenges. Unit volumes in the automotive industry have fallen
dramatically, for example, and governments around the world
have begun programs to stabilize financial markets and restore
consumer and business confidence. However, despite the
slowdown in the general markets, business activity continues,
and remains relatively strong in the markets for premium and
ultra-premium products. Fortunately for Research Frontiers and
our licensees, these premium markets are the initial markets that
we are penetrating with SPD-Smart products: premium
automobiles, aircraft, mega-yachts and high-end architectural
projects.

It is normal to look at unprecedented volatility and uncertainty
in the financial markets and worry about the future. Likewise, it
is hard to see our company's stock price at such low levels,
especially if you are a shareholder like me. Because of the
deafening noise of the daily events in the stock market lately, it
sometimes is easy to miss the clearly positive signs about the
future of the SPD industry, and the investment that our
shareholders have in it. There are many reasons that people have
invested in Research Frontiers. Some are attracted because of
the unprecedented benefits that SPD light-control technology
offers to various diverse industries that aspire toward creating a
more environmentally friendly world. Some are attracted by the
potentially large and growing markets that are developing in the
aircraft, automotive, marine and architectural glass industries. If
one has an appropriate time horizon for success in each of those
industries, then it is worth taking a close look at
SmartGlass.com to see the activities and progress that Research
Frontiers and its licensees have made this past year, and even
over the past two months, to build their SPD-related businesses.

While the path ahead is not always clear, we have planned
ahead and are in strong financial shape to successfully travel
down the road in front of us. Helping us are powerful and active
licensees with growing resources being deployed in their SPD
businesses. And motivating these licensees are important and
innovative projects and major customers that see the benefit of
incorporating SPD-Smart functionality into their products.

I thank all of our loyal and hard-working licensees and their
customers, and our shareholders, for their patience and support,
and wish all of you good health, good fortune, and a very happy
holiday season.

Joe Harary


If you have a suggestion for a future Ask Joe column, please
email it to me at: AskJoe@SmartGlass.com. If you are an
architect, designer, or builder, or a member of the glass, plastic,
automotive, aerospace, or marine industry, you probably have
read about us or attended one of the trade shows or conferences
around the world where we or our licensees have exhibited
SPD-Smart products. I am also pleased to say that many of you,
as well as homeowners and other consumers, have made our
interactive web site, SmartGlass.com, the first place to look if
you are interested in SPD-Smart windows and other products, or
if you are trying to keep on top of the most recent developments
with Research Frontiers' state-of-the-art SPD-Smart
light-control technology.
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