Simon Schwinger (Business Development Director) joined Jabil Optics in Q4/2019. Simon comprises 20+ years of hands-on experience along the entire photonic chain. Having started his career in Digital Imaging (digital camera modules and systems for scientific, industrial and consumer applications), he extended his professional background in optics (classical, polymer optics, hybrid systems) for Automotive and Consumer Electronics. Development, marketing and sales of professional-grade Illumination as well as Power Electronic solutions complete his portfolio. He graduated from the University of Applied Sciences in Jena and holds an MBE® degree from Steinbeis University Berlin. Prior to his current role, he filled several cross-company management positions, e.g. at JENOPTIK AG. As a member of the board of the industry association SPECTARIS he actively shapes and drives the prosperous future of Photonics.

Frank Wyrowski (President) co-founded the company LightTrans International GmbH in 1999 and the company Wyrowski Photonics GmbH in 2014. He has been professor of technical physics at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and head of the Applied Computational Optics Group since 1996. His work as entrepreneur, researcher and teacher is dedicated to developing fast physical optics techniques and software to address the increasing demand to overcome the limitations of ray optics in modern optics and photonics applications. Customers worldwide benefit from his engagement through the companies´ consulting and engineering services, and the commercial optical design software VirtualLab Fusion. Current R&D topics include applications like lightguides for AR&VR, light shaping, microscopy, interferometry, fiber coupling, diffractive and meta lenses, DOE, HOE, freeform, microlens arrays and physical optics theory in general.

Jukka Perento (Vice President Operations) is responsible of among other Business Development and sales and marketing at Inkron. Jukka has previous experience in management roles in multi-nationals as well as with start-up companies. Previously, he was CEO of three start-up companies in the field of measurement technologies, conductive polymers and functional materials. He is experienced in international B2B sales, management and operations.

Amin Abbasi (Business Manager) received his PhD degrees in ultra-high-speed directly modulated DFB lasers from Ghent University/imec in 2016. He continued his research at imec/UGent on 100 Gb/s single-channel EAM modulators until 2017. He joined AntwerpSpace/OHB as Photonic Team Leader on microwave photonics applications. From 2020, he is in the role of Business Development Manager at imec, covering imec’s SiN/Si 200- and 300-mm photonic platforms for multiple applications such as quantum computing, lidar, bio-sensing, AR/VR. He has (co-)authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications.

Bharath Rajagopalan (Director of Strategic Marketing) is Director of Strategic Marketing at STMicroelectronics, responsible for developing the company’s strategy for Augmented Reality leveraging ST’s broad technology and product portfolio. Bharath is a veteran of the electronics industry, having served in technical, managerial, and executive roles in research and development, manufacturing, product development, and marketing. Bharath is also serving as the Chair of the LaSAR Alliance. Prior to ST, he has held a number of leadership positions including roles at MicroVision, Dolby Laboratories, Texas Instruments and IBM in semiconductor technology development and manufacturing, display technology development and imaging systems. Bharath holds MS, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering and an MBA.

Stephan Prinz (Product Manager) is the responsible Product Manager for high-performance optical polymers at DELO Industrial Adhesives. He obtained his M.Sc. in optics and photonics from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in physics from Technical University of Munich. For seven years he developed cutting-edge ultra-short pulsed laser systems at TRUMPF for scientific applications like attosecond metrology or multiphoton spectroscopy. Stephan joined DELO in 2020 where he is now in charge of the company’s strategic development in the field of micro- and nano-optical applications.

Jussi Rahomäki (Chief Product Officer) is the Chief Product Officer of Dispelix, a company focused on see-through displays for augmented reality. Jussi is an experienced professional in diffractive and nanoscale optics, pursuing technology and business initiatives at the forefront of augmented reality industry. He has built his strong expertise in augmented reality industry and nanoscale optics technologies at various business and academic positions over his career. He received his MSc. and PhD. in physics from the University of Eastern Finland, and his executive MBA degree from Henley Business School. In his free time, Jussi is an avid mountain climber and paraglider.

Xavier Bonjour (Marketing & Partnerships Director) is the Marketing & Partnerships Director at MicroOLED, a leading provider of micro-displays, heading up the deployment of ActiveLook®, a proprietary “Lite AR” sports glasses technology, that provides the lowest-power heads-up display module to the eyewear industry currently on the market. Xavier has over 25 years of experience in consumer electronics technologies, having previously held several senior executive positions with Technicolor, LG, and Philips, and has served as a board member at Movea, a start-up focusing on motion-sensing data fusion, (successfully sold to TDK). Prior to MicroOLED, he was the Founder and CEO of 3D Sound Labs, a startup company that launched the first 3D audio headphones and provided other personalized audio solutions to the VR/AR market. He holds a Master of Science degree in digital technology from Heriot-Watt University, and a Master of Engineering from ESIEE. He also graduated from the Entrepreneurship Program at ESCP.

Gauthier Briere (Product Marketing Manager) is Product Marketing Manager at the Engineered Optics group under the CTO Office at Applied Materials. He obtained his Master Degree on Physics of Lasers and Light Matter Interaction at the Universite of Bourgogne. He, then pursues by doing a PhD in nanophotonics in 2019 at the Universite of Cote d’Azur under the supervision of Patrice Genevet at the Laboratory CRHEA, on the topic of Metasurfaces made of Gallium Nitride with application in the visible range. In 2020, he joined Dispelix, a successful Finnish start up, developing waveguide combiner for augmented reality application. He is now leading the Product marketing for flat optics at Applied Materials.

Kristina Uhlendorf (Head of the Optical Design and Quantified Experience Group) received her PhD in physics at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering / Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany. Prior to joining Magic Leap in 2021, she held several optical design engineering / managing positions at Carl Zeiss AG, Australian National University (Canberra), Jenoptik Optical Systems GmbH and Jabil Optics GmbH.

Emilie Viasnoff (Business Development Director) graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure (Lyon, France) as a physicist specializing in optics and photonics. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of PARIS Sud, France, on optical properties of photonic crystals. From 2005 to 2009, she worked as an R&D project leader at Saint-Gobain. In 2009, she moved to CEA-LETI and then CEA-DRT, where she spent 12 years in various positions as manager of R&D teams in display technologies, optics, photonics, microelectronics, and microsystems. In 2021, she moved to the Bay area, where she is now in charge of the strategy and business development for the Optical Solutions Group within Synopsys. Emilie has published over 15 publications, papers, books, and articles and holds eight patents.

Rafael Porcar (Scientific Coordinator) graduated in optics and electronics in 1996, and first worked as an optical engineer and project manager for the development of custom metrology systems in Paris. After a few years as a research engineer at ICFO in Barcelona, he founded two deep tech photonics start-ups and, as CEO and CTO, developed his experience in collaborative research and innovation, intellectual property management and public and private funding. Since 2021, he is putting his expertise at the service of Imagine Optic's scientific and marketing department and is in charge of the optical metrology product line and new product development.

Deepak Nair (Product Line Manager) holds a Masters in Photonics, and a PhD is diode laser technology. He has worked at various capacities in the photonics industry for over 13 years. He has been associated with NKT Photonics for the past 7 years and is currently in the role of product line manager with commercial responsibility for the SuperK and PILAS lasers. He is focused towards enabling a paradigm shift using super continuum technology in a variety of applications using broadband light within NKT Photonics’ strategic business areas.

Zheng Li (Business Development Manager) has been working for Mophotonics as Business development manager since Sep 2022. With a technical background in Materials Science and Chemistry, he worked in multiple roles such as product development, project management, technical support and business development. Zheng has a strong interest in bridging research with applications, exploring potential customers & markets, and solving customer pain-points by providing the right solutions.

Thomas von Wantoch (Managing Director) received the Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering and information technology from the University of Kiel, Germany, in 2010. Afterwards he has been working on the development of MEMS mirror technology and applications, starting as research associate at the University of Kiel (CAU Kiel) in 2010, subsequently in different roles at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT) beginning in 2012. His expertise is in application development for MEMS mirrors, particularly in the areas of system design, control and feedback control systems, electronic design and manufacturing, software development for microcontrollers and FPGAs as well as setup, testing, validation and characterization. In 2018 he co-founded OQmented.

Alex Zaretsky (Market Development Manager) brings a wealth of industry experience, having spent over two decades working in both R&D and commercial roles for major hi-tech manufacturers. Graduated with a BEng(Hons) degree in Electronics & Embedded Systems from Northumbria University at Newcastle upon Tyne, gained strong technical background through working in the semiconductors industry from 2000. Since the beginning of 2018, he has served as a key member of Epson Europe's New Market Development team, driving the development of partner ecosystems for the Optical Engine Module and the related Go-to-Market strategy. Additionally, he is the European Product Manager for Moverio AR smart glasses and is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience of augmented reality innovation.

Uwe Vogel (Head of Division Microdisplays and Sensors) is a skilled worker in semiconductor microelectronics in 1983, diploma in information technology in 1991, doctoral degree in biomedical engineering in 1999. Center for Applied Optics Studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute/Indiana, 1992), Dresden University hospital/hearing research (1995-98). With Fraunhofer in Dresden/Germany since 1998, starting as analog IC designer. Since 2000, he is the head of Analog/Mixed-Signal IC design group, later on focusing on OLED-on-Silicon, i.e., device design, technology and applications (e.g., in smart glasses or/and optoelectronic sensors), CMOS backplanes, OLED microdisplay for near-to-eye display (augmented-/virtual-reality), 3D displays, display driver IC, high-speed data transmission. Since 2010, Uwe is the head of division "Microdisplays and Sensors", and since 2014 - Deputy Director of Fraunhofer FEP.

Gerald Dahlmann (Senior Marketing Director) is Senior Director of Marketing at Coherent. He has 20 years experience in the high-tech industry in the field of sensors, optics, optoelectronics and semiconductors. Gerald holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from TU Darmstadt and a PhD from Imperial College London.

Theodor Nielsen (Founder & CEO) holds an engineering master’s degree from The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) where he specialized in nanotechnology. Theodor has worked with nanoimprint lithography since 2003 where he took part in pioneering the nanoimprint activities in Denmark. He has held the position as CEO in NIL Technology since 2006. Since 2019, Theodor has been leading the transformation of NIL Technology from being a technology company to become an advanced optics company, focusing on optics by nano-structures defining a new standard for optics in metalenses, DOEs and advanced waveguide displays.

Arseny Alexeev (Director of Nanophotonics Technology) received his BSc (2006) and MSc (2008) degrees in applied physics from the Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Russia. In 2013, he obtained PhD in Nanophotonics and Nanoelectronics from the University of Exeter, UK, and then worked at the same university as a Research Fellow in the Functional Materials group. Since 2018, Arseny is leading Research & Development of novel technologies for Augmented Reality displays at WaveOptics. He is also a coordinator of the Industry Forum of the UK Metamaterials Network and member of the EPIC AR/VR/MR Advisory Committee.

Christoph Leuze (Director & CEO) is director of the Visualization Core at the Stanford Wu Tsai Institute where his research focuses on virtual and augmented reality technologies for medical applications, and founder of Nakamir, a startup creating training and guidance solutions for the factory of the future leveraging Augmented Reality. He taught the first Stanford course on medical mixed reality development and founded the Stanford Medical Mixed Reality program, an institute-wide initiative to bring together academia, clinic and industry to establish and improve mixed reality applications for patient care. Christoph has received multiple prizes for his work in Augmented Reality including the IEEE VR People's choice award for the best AR demo, the TechConnect Award for one of the most promising technological innovations for national security and the prize for the best 3D video at the Ars Electronica Art and Science Festival. He has studied at Leipzig and Chiba University and received the Otto Hahn medal of the Max Planck Society for his PhD thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig.

Susan Backhaus (Head of Product Marketing & Business Development) has over 25 years of experience in telecommunications and hi-tech industries. She joined TriLite in September 2022, where she leads their product marketing & business development, contributing her solid understanding of technology and wide industry knowledge to enable TriLite to accelerate the availability of leading-edge display solutions for mass market Augmented Reality applications. She is a member of the Institute of Influencer & Analyst Relations (IIAR>) and was nominated in 2022 as one of the top 10 Analyst Relations Professionals of the Year. She received her Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1993.

Sandra Gely (Senior Application Engineering Manager) is a Senior Manager in Application Engineering team focusing on optical simulation solution at Ansys. She holds a Master’s Degree in Physics, Optical & Electronic Engineering from Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Paris, France. She joined Optis in 2014 and has taken various consulting and application engineering roles in Europe and then in North America. After joining Ansys through Optis acquisition in 2018, she has been working closely with High Tech companies in North America to provide suitable simulation tools for their applications. She is now leading a team of Optical Application Engineers in Europe.

Murat Deveci (Senior Technical Account Manager) works as a Director, Global Sales and Business Development at OptoFidelity. At OptoFidelity, he manages AR optical metrology business cases. In addition to his role within the company, he is also the Committee Chair of “IQM3 – Image Quality Metrics, Methods and Measurements” within LaSAR Alliance. In general, his work is heavily focused on solving the challenges with image quality testing, waveguide characterization, waveguide production, light engine testing for various near-to-eye displays in module and system level. Murat has a M.Sc. in Materials Engineering from Tampere University of Technology, Finland. He also completed studies in Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in Finland, Denmark and Turkey.

Dominik Schulz (Optical Design Engineer) previously worked as a Research Assistant at Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg pursuing his PhD in physics. His research focused on investigating and deriving simulation methodology for electromagnetic phenomena in non-trivial media and structures, as well as setting up high-end numerical infrastructure for solving the resulting numerical challenges. The physical topics included, e.g., scattering behavior in magnonic, optical, and quantum mechanical systems, modification of vortex fields, and THz applications in metamaterials. Following his studies, he joined PPE as an Optical Design Engineer specializing in wave optical applications such as DOEs, HOEs, and metasurfaces, where he solves tasks ranging from investigation, design, to tolerancing.