Plenary Speakers

Dr. Andrew Bayramian

Chief Scientist at Seurat Technologies
USA

Biography

Andrew Bayramian received his Ph.D. from the Department of Applied Science at University of California Davis in 2000 for research on a new laser gain medium. He then started a lengthy career at Lawrence Livermore National Lab from 2000-2018 scaling diode pumped laser systems in energy and average power for the purpose of driving fusion ignition or for driving secondary sources. His first assignment used the same gain material to build a scaled laser driver which was the first of its kind. In 2010 a new project called LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy) which aimed at a complete powerplant design including all aspects of lasers, targets, chamber, and balance of plant. Using lessons learned from the first system and technology advancements, he and his colleagues developed a compact and efficient laser design. In 2013 the opportunity arose to build a scale version of this laser as a driver for a short pulse beamline which is now installed at ELI Beamlines in Czechia. Andrew started as the Chief Scientist at Seurat Technologies in 2018 developing an additive manufacturing technology that is disruptive and could change how high-volume metal is fabricated. This work involves developing the lasers and architectures necessary to make this printing process function. He helped build the first technology demonstrator, a subscale printer, and finally a full-scale printer (5X productivity) with a second under construction. Andrew is a co-inventor of this technology that was developed in response to a need for specialized cooling tubes for LIFE.

Dr. Simon Dubuis

CEO and Co-founder of NLOPTICS
France

Biography

Dr. Simon DUBUIS is the CEO and co-founder of NLOPTICS, a Bordeaux-based start-up leading in quality control of lithium niobate for advanced materials applications. He is a physical engineer specialized in photonics, and lasers. After a master's degree in optical fiber manufacturing for telecommunications, he worked at TeraXion in Canada as an Optics Specialist. In December 2024, he completed his PhD degree on nonlinear surface spectroscopy in Bordeaux, France. Today, he is leading NLOPTICS company's technological development and scientific strategy. His technical expertise and long-term vision enable NLOPTICS to remain at the forefront of innovation while meeting industrial requirements.

Dr. Dominic A. Sulway

CTO and Co-Founder of Light Trace Photonics
UK

Biography

Dr. Dominic A. Sulway is the CTO and Co-Founder of Light Trace Photonics, a Bristol-based start-up developing a range of products and services to facilitate rapid, low-risk photonic integrated circuit (PIC) product development. Dominic is an expert in photonic integrated circuit PIC design, simulation and characterisation, with a wealth of experience in PIC post-processing and packaging, nonlinear optics, quantum optics, and thermo/electro-optics. He received his PhD from the University of Bristol, where he was part of the Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training. During his PhD, Dominic specialised in the design of integrated photonic components for quantum photonic resource generation in silicon waveguides at an operational wavelength of 2 µm. Post-PhD, he held a Research Associate position at the University of Bristol exploring how to integrate these chip-based quantum photonic systems into cryogenic environments.

Dr. Richard S. Kim

R&D Director-LASER COMPONENTS Detector Group, Inc.
USA

Biography

Dr. Richard S. Kim holds dual Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from UCLA, earned in 2009, and in Electrical Engineering from Chonnam National University (Korea) in 1998. He served as an R&D Manager at Illinois Tools Works from 2016 and in 2023, he joined LCDG as the R&D Director, overseeing the development of state-of-the-art Silicon UV detectors/APD detectors, Lead Salts detectors, InGaAs APD detectors, III-V InAsSb T2SL detectors, and III-V Interband-cascade LEDs as well as pyro-electric detectors covering from SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR spectral wavelengths.

Ms. Xenia Bogomolec

CEO & Founder-Quant-X Security & Coding GmbH
Germany

Biography

Xenia Bogomolec is an Information Security Manager with a background in Mathematics and IT. In the past years, she was mostly responsible for the coordination and QA of information security standards in highly regulated organizations. Since 2022, she also steers Quant-ID (https://Quant-id.de), a consortium project for the implementation of digital identities that are resistant to Quantum attacks which is funded by the German Government.

Dr. Ben Stevens

Director of Photonics Technology Europe at IQE, UK

Biography

Ben Stevens received his MEng in electronic engineering in 2005 and PhD in advanced GaAs based lasers in 2010, both from the University of Sheffield. He then worked as an MOVPE epitaxial grower at the EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies until he joined IQE in 2016, just in time for the 6” volume VCSEL ramp. He is now the Director responsible for Photonics Products .

Dr. Maria Chiara Ubaldi

CEO-CareGlance srl
Italy

Biography

Maria Chiara Ubaldi is the CEO and founder of CareGlance S.r.l.: she comes from a long-time experience in photonic devices for telecom applications, based both on micro-optics and integrated optics approach. In particular, she developed a strong know-how in laser design and manufacturing, working with major industries in the field like Pirelli. By joining a strong experimental experience with an open innovation mindset, she oversees all project management and fund raising CareGlance activities, together with direct R&D area supervision.

Dr. Wen-Di Li

University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Biography

Wen-Di Li is currently a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong, leading the Nanofabrication and Nanodevice Laboratory. Before joining HKU, Prof. Li received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees from Tsinghua University and Princeton University, respectively, and carried out post-doctoral research on advanced lithography for next-generation nanoelectronics at Hewlett-Packard Labs. His research interests mainly focus on high-resolution and scalable lithographic patterning and micro/nanofabrication techniques, such as sub-10 nm helium-ion-beam lithography, nanoimprint lithography, laser interference lithography, etc. The innovations from his team have been awarded three gold medals at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions and licensed to start-up companies, to commercialize flexible electronic devices, biomedical devices, and nanopatterning equipment.

Mr. John Ciraldo

CTO-WD Advanced Materials
USA

Biography

John Cirado is the Chief Technology Officer of WD Advanced Materials, a leading manufacturer of CVD diamond solutions based in the Washington, D.C. area. In his role, he oversees engineering and technology development, leveraging his two decades of experience and 20+ patents in single crystal material growth and semiconductor manufacturing. Prior to his current role, Ciraldo founded J2 Materials in Chicago, IL, an innovative diamond growth startup acquired by WD in 2021. WhenFounder and CTO of J2 Materials, Ciraldoalso worked in research at the Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center and Northwestern University, where he developed new characterization methods and novel technologies for biomedical and other applications.Before founding J2 Materials, Ciraldo was the head of R&D for Rubicon Technology, where he authored 14 patents and developedstate-of-the-art production-scale sapphire growth processes. Prior to his industry experience, Ciraldo’s graduate research focused on thin film materials for spintronic applications.He played an instrumental role in developing next-generation graphene CVD growth methods, as well as high-quality spin filters through europium oxide crystal synthesis.

Mr. Walter Wrigglesworth III

CEO-Wyzkyds Consulting
USA

Biography

Walt Wrigglesworth has pioneered optics and materials design for the past forty years. An expert in aerospace design, optical engineering, and manufacturing processes, Walt has spent much of his career leveraging new and emergent technologies, processes, and materials for private and government purposes. In the past decade, his company has received multiple phase II and III SBIR awards as well as first-tier subcontracts for optical design, modelling and simulation, optical component manufacture, materials design and integration, and sensor design, and has worked with U.S. government agencies such as NDA, Army, Navy, and SMDC, as well as major contractors such as Physical Sciences, Inc., Advanced Silicon Carbide Materials, Lockheed Martin Space, and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

Dr. William Fischer

President-Precision Adhesives and Chemicals
USA

Biography

Dr. Fischer is the Director of New Business at Advanced Silicon Carbide Materials and an internationally recognized expert in the areas of ceramic research, development, and manufacturing process development for a variety of government applications, including reflective optical materials and systems. With over thirty years of experience in materials development, most of which involved SiC processing, Dr. Fischer has a long history of generating new and enabling technologies via the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program and STTR programs. He has been the winner of over a dozen SBIR/STTR proposals from 2001-2008, including several Phase II projects from the Air Force, MDA, NASA, Navy, Army, SOCOM, and Army SMDC.

Mr. Jay Robles Pecharromán

Founder & CEO of JAYNSTEIN LLC
USA

Biography

I am very proud to be Founder & CEO of JAYNSTEIN LLC is the Most Radical Business to break the rules of the current Science. I am author of Æ ◎ Ion Quantum Theory and Æ ◎ Unified Theory about the quantum of light.

Dr. Denis Shamiryan

Director of Operations-Keen Semiconductor
Netherlands

Biography

Denis Shamiryan obtained his PhD in 2003 from Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He worked as Senior Scientist at Imec, Belgium, where he started up a European conference on plasma etching (PESM). From 2011 till 2013 he worked at Global Foundries Fab1 in Germany as Member of Technical Staff. Since 2013 he worked for Mapper llc, a subsidiary of a Dutch company Mapper Lithography first as a Manufacturing Director then as CEO. Mapper llc manufactured electron optic elements for Multi E-beam Direct Write (MEBDW) lithography machine developed by Mapper Lithography. In 2023 he worked as Director of Operations at Smart Photonics in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Since 2024 he works as Director of Operations for Keen Semiconductor, a Dutch subsidiary of Secure Foundry, a US company that develops a MEBDW lithography machine.

Prof. Iam Choon Khoo

Pennsylvania State University
USA

Biography

Prof. Iam Choon Khoo received his Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Rochester in 1976. He is currently William E. Leonhard Professor of Electrical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. A Fellow of four technical societies (IEEE, OPTICA; UK Inst. of Phys; Electromagnetic Academy), he authored/co-author 8 books, 3 patents, 14 book chapters, and 294 publications and has given over 430 presentations (234 Invited/Keynote/Plenary) at international conferences sponsored by IEEE, OSA, SPIE, The Electromagnetic Academy, and several European and Asian-Pacific organizations; he has been the conference/program chair of over 50 international conferences. He is the adviser/mentor of 33 Ph. D. graduates and has served as an external Ph. D. examiner for several oversea universities, including: Trinity College Ireland (2001); Chalmers University, Sweden (2002); Cambridge University, UK (2005); The University of Wollongong, Australia (2013); Tampere University of Technology Finland (2018). He is the recipient of the 2024 SPIE Maria Goeppert Mayer Award in Photonic.

Prof. Armin Grasnick

IU International University
Germany

Biography

Armin Grasnick has been a distance learning professor for Augmented & Virtual Reality in the IT and Technology department since 2022. After studying technical optics, he began his professional career as a research assistant for the design of high-performance lenses. During the New Economy, he set up his own business with a start-up to develop 3D displays and subsequently founded other companies with a 3D/VR focus at home and abroad. In addition to his work in development and management, he completed his doctorate on autostereoscopic displays at the FernUniversit�t in Hagen. Over the course of his professional life, he has registered several patents, written several specialist books on the subject of virtual reality and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements.

Dr. Maksym Plakhotnyuk

Founder and CEO-ATLANT 3D Nanosystems
Denmark

Biography

Inventor of first-ever atomic layer advanced manufacturing technology that enables materials, devices, and microsystem development and manufacturing with atomic precision. A scientist with a Ph.D. in Nanotechnology and Photovoltaics with expertise in nanotechnologies, renewable and exponential technologies, and deep knowledge of photovoltaics, semiconductor processing, solid-state physics, and material science. Member of Forbes Technology Council, Hello Tomorrow Grand Winner, Fulbright scholar, and proud Ukrainian.

Mr. Giuseppe Modica

CTO-Lumisync
France

Biography

Will be updated soon

Prof. Friedrich Grimm

MD-RES Institute
Germany

Biography

Prof. Friedrich Grimm was born in Stuttgart in 1954. He studied architecture at the University of Stuttgart and at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1980. After having finished his studies in 1981, he worked as an employed architect and later on temporarily joined the scientific staff of the Institute for Building Construction at the University of Stuttgart. During his practice as a freelanced architect, since 1989 he took part in competitions and completed several multifamily houses in southern Germany. Due to a series of books, which he has written in the field of steel construction, edited by Ernst & Sohn in Berlin (2003), and one the subject of one family homes, edited by Callwey in Munich (2006), he was nominated a professor honorary in 2009 by the faculty one, for architecture and urban design at the university of Stuttgart. In 2016, he founded the RES- Institute as a completely independant think tank in the field of renewable energies. Since then he works with passion and endurance on projects matching the RES-Institutes obligation to provide blueprints for a friendly climate on earth.

Dr. Rodney Pelzel

Chief Technology Officer-IQE plc
UK

Biography

Dr. Rodney Pelzel has over 24 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, with deep expertise in semiconductor materials engineering and the epitaxial growth of compound semiconductors.He is widely published and is the inventor of 30+ patents. Dr. Pelzel is a thought leader in compound semiconductors and is frequently interviewed to provide insight on market and technology trends. Dr. Pelzel joined IQE as a Production Engineer in 2000. For the first twelve years of his career with IQE, he held various engineering and operational management roles focusing on scaling leading edge epitaxial technology for volume manufacturing for wireless applications. In 2012, he was appointed as the head of R&D for the IQE Group and was tasked with creating unique materials solutions that enable IQE’s customers and provide them with a competitive edge. Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous new product introductions including IQE’s highly successful launch of 6” VCSELs for consumer applications.

Mr. Jonathan Naoukin

CTO-Type 1 Compute
USA

Biography

Jonathan Naoukin is a Mathematics Major minoring in Entrepreneurship at The University of Texas at Austin, leading a Deeptech startup named Type 1 Compute. He is a Founding TEX-E Fellow working with MIT, Greentown Labs, and 5 Texas Universities as head of the TEX-E Insight Groups Initiative. The main interests of research range from Applied Mathematics to Beyond Moore's Law Computer Architectures (Quantum Computing and Neuromorphic Computing).

Mr. Juha Pietarinen

Chief Product Officer, OptoFidelity Oy
Finland

Biography

Juha Pietarinen is an expert in nanophotonics manufacturing and AR smart glass display production technology, currently serving as the Chief Product Officer at Optofidelity Oy. With over 20 years of experience in photonics production technology management, Juha has worked across diverse technology areas, including materials, processes and quality control for major tech brands.

Keynote Speakers

Mr. Nourdin Kaai

COO-Aircision
Netherlands

Biography

Nourdin Kaai brings a strong background in mechanical engineering and control systems, with a keen focus on innovation at the intersection of engineering and telecommunications. He plays a pivotal role at Aircision, where he leads efforts in system design and field testing. Nourdin has a mission to translate academic breakthroughs into practical, industry-ready solutions. He has been directly involved in recent research showing that multi terabyte per second communication is possible in terrestrial FSO communication

Assoc. Prof. Jiyuan Zheng

Tsinghua University
China

Biography

Jiyuan Zheng, Associate Research Professor, Tsinghua University. He received his Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, he conducted his first postdoctoral research at the University of Virginia, followed by his second postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago from 2019 to 2020. Focused on the application needs of high-performance intelligent photonic integrated circuits, he adopts an interdisciplinary research approach, systematically investigating the physical mechanisms of photonic devices, features of artificial intelligence algorithms, chip operating principles, fabrication processes, and application validations. He developed a high-speed Geiger-mode avalanche photodetector using the dynamic memristor quenching principle, significantly enhancing the performance of intelligent sensing sensors in terms of speed, efficiency, timing jitter, and integration density. Additionally, he introduced the Minigap theory through first-principles calculations, which predicted and validated key properties of AlInAsSb digital alloy materials, enabling flexible wavelength adjustment and reducing noise in intelligent sensing sensors.

Dr. Martijn Boerkamp

CTO and Co-founder of inPhocal
Netherlands

Biography

Will be updated soon..

Mr. Siraj Nour El Ahmadi

Member of the Board-Lightwave Logic
USA

Biography

Will be updated soon..

Dr. Xianfeng Chen

Nottingham Trent University
UK

Biography

Dr. Xianfeng Chen is an Associate Professor, Head of Biophotonics & Sensors Group at School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. Dr Chen has over 20 years' research experience in the UK, leading multidisciplinary research in photonics, 2D-materials and biomedical sciences. He is PI/Co-I of over 20 grants from the UK, EU and US funding bodies. He has authored 4 books/chapters, filed 2 patents, and published more than 150 papers.

Mr. Friedhelm M. Joge

Independent Scientist
Germany

Biography

Friedhelm Jöge, born in 1943, worked in a scientific laboratory after studying chemistry and mathematics at a young age and after studying chemical engineering, before working in development departments in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. His work focused on the areas of biochemistry and macromolrcular chemistry. He is interested in the synopsis of various physical, chemical and biological knowledge as well as questions of origion and ethics in the field of tension between faith and science. In paeticular, he has dealt with the concept of information. He is married, has a daughter and three grandchildren. He also loves music and chess.

Mr. Andreas Rose

GM-Photonics Research Corporation and Chromonix GmbH, Germany

Biography

Andreas Rose is General Manager of PHOTONICS RESEARCH CORPORATION and CHROMONIX GmbH. He has gained his experience as CEO, Vice President of Engineering, Vice President of Research and Development and as independent contractor for companies in Europe, the United States and Japan for several market leaders in laser and fiber optics technology in telecom, datacom, medical, sensor and industrial applications. After 32 years of experience in the field of photonics technology, he is well known as an expert in the scientific and industrial field of photonic devices, lasers and fiber optics. Mr. Rose is inventor of >50 granted patents, author of multiple technical papers in the Laser and Optics field, as well as Short Course Instructor at multiple photonics related congresses.

Dr. Ang-Yang Yu

Heilongjiang Agricultural EngineeringVocational College
China

Biography

As the first author and corresponding author, Angyang Yu has published more than 30 scientific articles in many international journals. He had served as a teaching faculty in Liaoning University of Petroleum and Chemical Technology before he obtained his Ph.D. degree at Jilin University of China and performed his Postdoctor's research in Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research directions cover a wide range among physics, chemistry, as well as materials science. To list a few respresentitive research interests: 1. molecular spectra, 2. chemical kinetics, 3. molecular excited states, 4. molecular reaction dynamics and 5. engineering alloy design.

Invited Speakers

Dr. Prasenjit Srivastava

Brown University
USA

Biography

Dr. Prasenjit Srivastava is a postdoctoral research associate in the Sprague-Klein Lab at Brown University, USA, specializing in ultrafast dynamics, nano-optics, plasmonics, and advanced spectroscopy techniques. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of light-matter interactions through cutting-edge laser spectroscopy and developing novel nano-optic methods that have potential applications in industries such as material science and sensing. Dr. Srivastava earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Kansas, where he worked under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Elles, developing a single-shot method to measure two-photon absorption spectra and played a pivotal role in setting up state-of-the-art laser laboratory. Dr Srivastava is deeply passionate about bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and practical, industry ready solutions.

Dr. Andrew Meek

SENKO Advanced Components
UK

Biography

Andrew Meek is a Senior Technologist working as part of the Technology and Innovation team with Senko Advanced Components. He has a background in optical engineering and physics, with an MPhys degree and PhD from the University of St Andrews, and is currently focusing on the development and application of novel optical interconnect approaches for photonic integrated circuits."

Dr. S M Shah Riyadh

Purdue University Fort Wayne
USA

Biography

Dr. S M Shah Riyadh is a Assistant Professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA with a PhD from the University of Louisville, KY. His doctoral research, funded by NASA and NSF, focused on high-resolution gas-phase spectroscopy relevant to astrochemistry and astrobiology. Currently collaborating with NASA Ames, Dr. Riyadh is advancing techniques like continuous-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy and Doppler-free spectroscopy to probe complex molecular structures. He is also committed to teaching and involving students in research.

Mr. Aaron Kim

ECE, UCSB
USA

Biography

He earned BSc at Kwangwoon University, Korea, whose focus was electronic IC design using a variety of simulators such as SPICEs and Cadence. He then shifted to photonic IC design by the time he started the MSc program at University of California - Santa Barbara, USA. While studying in photonic IC design, he wanted to combine his unique experiences from both IC fields. His current research interest is 'optical and electrical interconnect', especially 'optical through-silicon-via' for 3D electronic-photonic integration. He is looking for great advisors to continue working on his research.