Judges
Meet the 35 judges who will devote countless hours, to review over 100 applications, to identify the 2025 finalists. We thank them for their expertise, insight, and time.
Zane Arp
Bell International Labs, USA
Zane Arp is Chief Compliance Officer at Bell International Laboratories. He has over 20 years’ experience driving innovative solutions to impactful outcomes in the medical and pharmaceutical industries at organizations including the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline.
Markus Arzberger
ams OSRAM, Germany
Markus Arzberger is Senior Director at ams OSRAM and in charge of the Product Line Automotive & Vital Signs. He has more than 25 years experience in optoelectronics R&D and business.
Robert Bernath
Townes Institute (TISTEF), USA
Robert Bernath is the Director of TISTEF, has 20+ years of optics / laser experience, 14+ years of leadership in strategic initiatives, plus a long history of workforce development and startups.
Walter Burgess
Power Technology, USA
Walter Burgess is VP, Sales and engineering at Power Technology, a manufacturer and supplier of laser diode products.
Rosalie Clemens
RC Consulting International, USA
Rosalie Clemens has 25 years of experience in technology, international business and executive leadership, including workforce development, standards and nonprofits.
Klea Dhimitri
Hamamatsu Photonics, USA
Klea Dhimitri is Hamamatsu's quantum technologies lead where she leads efforts in marketing and works closely with R&D teams in Japan. Her expertise in photonics covers photonic detection, imaging, and modulation.
Damon Diehl
Nextcorps Luminate, USA
Damon Diehl is the Director of Technology Integration at the Luminate Accelerator, the largest startup accelerator program in the world for optics-, photonics-, and imaging-based companies.
Marie-Christine Ferland
Photon etc., Canada
Marie-Christine Ferland is the Business Development Director at Photon etc., is a Canadian manufacturer of infrared cameras, widely tunable optical filters and hyperspectral imaging.
Sanjay Gangadhara
Ansys, USA
Sanjay Gangadhara is the Senior Program Director for Optics at Ansys, an industry leader in engineering simulation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering & Nuclear Engineering from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science & Engineering from MIT.
Simi George
HyperSpectral Corporation, USA
Simi George is the Chief Technology Officer for HyperSpectral Corporation, which is revolutionizing how MedTech, health care, food safety, defense and other sectors operate through hardware-agnostic, universally applicable artificial intelligence-powered spectroscopy.
Bo Gu
BOS Photonics, USA
Bo Gu is the founder and president of BOS Photonics, a Massachusetts based company aiming at developing photonics related technologies and markets.
Shahida Imani
Singular Photonics Limited, Scotland
Shahida Imani is the CEO and Co Founder of Singular Photonics Limited, a fabless semi conductor company that is bring next generation Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) to the market.
Daewook Kim
University of Arizona, USA
Daewook Kim is an associate professor of optical science and astronomy, with expertise in the design, fabrication, and testing of large optics for both ground and space applications.
Zhenlin Li
Betawave Ventures, USA
Zhenlin Li is the founding partner of Betawave Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and Boston, that invests in medical device, early diagnosis, new energy, and high-end manufacturing.
Anjul Loiacono
Elevate Quantum, USA
Anjul is the Chief Commercial Officer at Elevate Quantum, a Designated TechHub by the US Department of Commerce. She is responsible for accelerating innovation in the quantum ecosystem through supporting existing and start-up quantum companies.
Gisele Maxwell
Alcon, USA
Gisele Maxwell is a Senior Principal Engineer in the surgical R&D team at Alcon. She is the former Founder and CEO of Shasta Crystals Inc.
Jason McClure
Viavi Solutions, USA
Jason McClure is VP of R&D at Viavi Solutions and former CTO at Teledyne Princeton Instruments.
Don McDaniel
Energetiq Technology, USA
Don McDaniel’s career in photonics has largely been focused around the development of semiconductor optical devices and various integrated systems using them. In addition to technical roles, he’s had leadership roles in product management, business development, and general management.
Alison McLeod
Technology Scotland, Scotland
Alison is Director of Photonics Scotland at Technology Scotland, the representative body for the enabling technology sector in Scotland.
Kate Medicus
Ruda Optical, USA
Kate Medicus has over 20 years of experience in optical engineering. She has worked in industry, academia, and national labs in a wide range of roles from engineer to adjunct professor to business owner.
Nishant Mohan
Notal Vision, USA
Nishant Mohan is Vice President of Product at Notal Vision. He specializes in product development and commercialization of medical technologies. He is a recipient of the SPIE early career achievement award.
Mikhail Ovchinnikov
Alcon, USA
Mikhail Ovchinnikov is a Director of Laser Technologies at the Alcon surgical instrumentation R&D division. Prior to his current role he led multiple early-stage development and innovation projects at Alcon in the fields of ultrasonics, fluidics, imaging, and lasers.
Jérôme Prieur
AUREA Technology, France
Jérôme has over 20 years of experience in managing companies’ growth in photonics, laser, and optical fiber communication systems. He cofounded AUREA Technology in 2010 and currently is President and Director of Sales.
Sujatha Ramanujan
NextCorps Luminate, USA
Sujatha Ramanujan is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned executive with 25 years of experience in Optics, Electronics and Clinical Devices. She is currently the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Luminate, an investment fund and educational program under NextCorps.
Ryszard Romaniuk
Warsaw Univ. of Technology, Poland
Ryszard is a professor at WUT. His 40 years of experience in photonics include R&D, glass, laser and optical fiber industry consulting, governmental positions and postgraduate teaching.
Christopher Rowan
Arscentia, USA
Chris Rowan is founder of Arscentia and has 30 years of executive management experience in the photonics, semiconductor, software, chemical and advanced materials sectors having served as a GM and in roles ranging from marketing to sales to business development.
Katie Schwertz
Edmund Optics, USA
Katie is the Senior Manager of Optical Assemblies and Technology at Edmund Optics. She currently serves on the Board of the Arizona Technology Council and as Co-Chair of its Optics Valley industry cluster.
Robert Sewell
ICFO, Spain
Robert is a tenured scientist, Head of Academic Affairs and SPIE@ICFO Chair for Diversity in Photonic Sciences at ICFO in Barcelona. His background is in ultracold atomic physics and quantum optics.
Cather Simpson
Orbis Diagnostics, New Zealand
Cather Simpson is an entrepreneurial academic (physics and chemistry at the University of Auckland) who has co-founded three photonics-based, deep-tech companies in New Zealand. She will be Vice President of SPIE in 2025.
Linda Smith
CERES Technology Advisors, USA
Spanning the spectrum of photonics enabled markets, Linda advised on mergers, acquisitions and financings valued at more than $1.5billion. She founded CERES to serve photonics companies underserved by generalist investment bankers.
Michelle Stephens
NIST, USA
Michelle Stephens is a physicist in the Applied Physics Division at NIST. She has over 30 years of experience in precision measurement with lasers, including interferometry and radiometry.
Erik Stover
Trioptics, USA
Erik has over 27 years of experience in Optics manufacturing, Assembly and Testing. With a strong background in building metrology systems for a variety of optical testing applications. He is currently the President of Trioptics North America.
Ferechteh Hosseini Teherani
Nanovation, France
Ferechteh H. Teherani (PhD, MBA), is the CEO of Nanovation SARL. She has been involved with the development of novel oxide thin film materials and devices for over 30 years.
Mark A. Tolbert
TOPTICA Photonics, USA
Mark A. Tolbert is the President and CEO of TOPTICA Photonics. Mark has a degree in Physics and received his MBA from the Simon School of Business.
René Zünd
Feinwerkoptik Zünd AG, Switzerland
René Zünd is CEO at Feinwerkoptik Zünd AG, a product developer and manufacturer of miniaturized optic systems and components, enabling new procedures for biomedical, life science and sensors.