Events
Optica Silicon Valley Winter Event
24 February 2023
Pacific Time (US & Canada) (UTC - 07:00)
The hybrid event will provide detailed insight into how leading companies use photonics to change the future. The event will bring together industry experts, students, job seekers, and early-career professionals for networking, learning, and sharing.
Event Speakers
Mark Wade
Ayar Labs, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder
Mark T. Wade received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA, as a Member of the Nanophotonic Systems Laboratory. He is currently the President, Chief Scientist, and Co-Founder of Ayar Labs. Mark was part of the team that demonstrated the first microprocessor to communicate to the outside world with light. His interests include photonic circuit theory, photonic design automation, electronic-photonic integration, and commercialization of integrated photonics technologies. Mark and his Ayar Labs co-founders won the MIT Clean Energy Prize, sponsored by the Department of Energy, in May 2015.
Leah Kuritzky
Antora Energy, Head of Photovoltaic Operations
Leah Kuritzky is Head of Photovoltaics Operations at Antora Energy. She has a PhD in Materials from UC Santa Barbara and has focused her career on engineering solutions to climate change. She has a background in LED R&D, manufacturing, and reliability, and at Antora she puts her optoelectronics skills to unique use in thermal energy storage. Antora uses renewable electricity to heat blocks of carbon to glowing hot temperatures >1500°C. Dr. Kuritzky has contributed to the R&D and manufacturing of Antora's high-efficiency thermophotovoltaics (TPV) that convert the stored radiant heat back into electricity to deliver zero-carbon, on-demand power to customers.
Robert Maher
Infinera, Chief Technology Officer
Robert Maher, Ph.D. serves as Chief Technology Officer of the Optical Modules and Coherent Solutions BU at Infinera. He has authored over 100 technical publications in the field of optical transmission technologies and has 2 patents. He was awarded the Marie Curie Research Fellowship from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2010 and the University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society, UK, in 2016. In recognition of his technical contributions to the optical industry, he has been awarded Optica’s Paul F Foreman Team Engineering Excellence Award and the Colin Campbell Mitchell Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK). In 2015, he was elevated to Senior Member of the IEEE. Dr. Maher holds a B.Eng. in Electronic Engineering and a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from Dublin City University, Ireland.
