Dave Shelton earned his PhD and Master’s degree in Materials Science and Optics from the University of Central Florida studying under Prof. Glenn Boreman in the CREOL Infrared Systems Lab. In 2010, Glenn and Dave founded Plasmonics Inc, which Dave ran as CEO until 2016. He then moved on to serve as Chief Scientist with St. John’s Optical Systems, and later oversaw its day-to-day operations.
Moving from component development to mission system integration work, Dave assumed a program management role in the Image Processing Center of Excellence with L3 before moving to a role as senior scientist with BAE Systems FAST Labs. His career then took him to Ball Aerospace where he served as an advanced systems manager and a responsible engineer on several space programs.
Dave is a subject matter expert in infrared detectors, radiometry, and EOIR systems engineering. He has a deep understanding of the defense industry from time working for prime contractors and has worn many hats with start-up companies in the defense industry. He has also served as an adjunct professor teaching graduate level classes in infrared systems and radiometry.
For more than 25 years, as both an engineer and business leader, Rosalie has led the development of technologies and products ranging from classic optical components to advanced photonics systems. Her international journey has taken her from academia to industry to international non-profit organizations.
Her background includes studies and research positions with leading academic institutions in optics (Univ. of Arizona, College of Optical Sciences; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Dept. of Laser Physics, Sweden; Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, Germany); engineering and business leadership positions in the optics industry (3M, Jenoptik, Viavi, Rochester Precision Optics); and international standards (GS1).
Throughout her career, Rosalie has promoted STEM education, and has especially worked to bring women and under-represented communities into these fields. Her own positive experience with MentorNet led her to become a life-long activist for STEM education. She launched MentorNet at 3M and co-created MentorNet in Minnesota, two unique programs matching thousands of STEM students with industry mentors to launch high-impact careers.
As an industry representative, Rosalie has also served on government affairs and higher education steering committees at the Minnesota Technology Association. Rosalie loves engaging hands-on with educational and motivational events at schools, job fairs, industry events, and serving as a judge at youth competitions, such as the Intel/Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.
Rosalie joins AmeriCOM with passion and enthusiasm for innovation in optics manufacturing and workforce development, where she will serve as Vice President, Workforce Development and Community Engagement.
Alexis Vogt, PhD serves as executive director of workforce and higher education at AmeriCOM. Dr. Vogt is also a tenured professor of optics and the endowed chair of the Optical Systems Technology program at Monroe Community College (MCC), the first college worldwide to award associate degrees in precision optics. In her first five years at MCC, Dr. Vogt secured over $6 million for the program.
Under her leadership, program enrollment and completion rates increased exponentially and laboratory renovations yielded 7,500 square feet of teaching space in four optic labs making use of $3.5 million of state-of-the-art optics manufacturing and metrology equipment. In her position at AmeriCOM, Dr. Vogt will expand her successful work at MCC to AmeriCOM partner colleges, faculty, students, and employers across the nation.
Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Vogt worked in the optics industry as Applications & Business Development Manager at Melles Griot (IDEX) and previous to that, designed contact lenses and intraocular lenses for Bausch + Lomb. In addition to her industry experience, Dr. Vogt holds three patents and has authored hundreds of papers, presentations, and publications in the field, including the definitions of “light” and “polarization” for World Book Encyclopedia. Dr. Vogt received her B.S. as well as her Ph.D. in Optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester where her research focused on polarization engineering, coherence theory, and microscopy.
Dr. Vogt is an active member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics and a senior member of Optica, formerly OSA, the Optical Society of America. She serves as a board member for the American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association (APOMA), the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the New York Photonics/Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC), and the MCC Optical Systems Technology Advisory Board. In addition, she serves on the University of Rochester Hajim School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, the University of Rochester Institute of Optics Industrial Associates Director’s Advisory Council, and as the MCC Optics Club advisor.
Dr. Vogt is the recipient of the 2021 RRPC Leadership Award, the 2020 IEEE Technical Skills Educator Award, the 2018 National Women’s Hall of Fame Keeper of the Flame Award, and the 2017 New York Photonics Education Award. Her professional efforts have also been recognized with the Rochester Business Journal 2016 “Forty Under 40” award, the 2015 IDEX KEEP award for high performance, and the 2012 Bausch + Lomb CEO Award. With a commitment to the future of OPI industries, Dr. Vogt dedicates time to youth outreach and has been involved with coordinating and presenting optics demonstrations to children and educators both within the Rochester community and internationally. She is respected nationally as a speaker and role model for young women in optics.
Bill Strong joins the team as the Director of Engineering, overseeing the operations of the AmeriCOM lab facility and activities in support of AmeriCOM’s research mission to develop advanced precision optics manufacturing technologies, testing equipment, and specialized materials required to support scalable manufacturing of lenses and optical components.
He has decades of experience in optics manufacturing and engineering roles having previously served as Director of Product Engineering at Rochester Precision Optics, a globally recognized manufacturer of precision optics for night vision applications. He was responsible for directing manufacturing operations, and led a team of engineers who created fixtures, improved yields, created work instructions, and continually improved areas in operations.
Bill graduated from Monroe Community College’s Optical Systems Technology Program, and later taught there as a full-time instructor for three years before returning to industry in an engineering leadership role. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an Executive MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
In her marketing role, Josanne is responsible for the AmeriCOM brand identity and for developing strategic marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the optics industry and the many career pathways it supports. As operations director, she coordinates the activities associated with the evaluation and onboarding of a community college to serve as the hub of an AmeriCOM optics ecosystem. Both roles rely on close collaboration with partners in secondary schools and institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and industry. Working with marketing partners, Josanne implements a range of recruitment and outreach activities to middle- and high-school-aged students, adult learners, and those who influence them as they consider studying and working in optics manufacturing.
Before joining AmeriCOM, Josanne was president and co-founder of Cognitive Marketing Inc, a brand development and strategic marketing consultancy based in Rochester, NY that serves universities, colleges, independent schools, educationally oriented nonprofit organizations, and economic development initiatives across the country.
An experienced strategic marketing consultant, Josanne guides teams of creative and marketing professionals in the development of content strategies, identity systems, and integrated marketing campaigns for student recruitment and institutional advancement. Josanne is committed to fostering collaboration among her teammates and brings the intellectual orientation of both a designer and a marketer to her work, placing equal importance in human creativity and the power of data.
Josanne is particularly focused on educational equality and is chair of the Board of Advisors of the Horizons Student Enrichment Program at The Harley School of Rochester. She has served as an advisor to the Center for Student Opportunity and their I’m First (ImFirst.org) initiative and the Rochester College Access Network (RCAN) of the Rochester Education Foundation and has volunteered with summerLEAP, a regional consortium of organizations that provide summer learning programs to children in urban and rural school districts.
Kirsten Nobel, PhD serves as Program Manager for Workforce and Higher Education, working with college partners and experts from industry to set up training labs for tomorrow’s optics technicians. The Workforce Development team seeks to expand AmeriCOM’s reach to new community colleges in optics-rich areas around the country.
Kirsten holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, specializing in human and machine vision, optical properties of the human eye and neural mechanisms of visual perception. Prior to joining AmeriCOM, Kirsten was a Solution Engineer in biometrics, designing face, finger and iris recognition systems used by the federal government for counter-terrorism and passport issuance.
Mike Bechtold is CEO and Founder of OptiPro Systems, a world leader in designing and manufacturing innovative CNC grinding, polishing, and metrology machines for the precision optics and advanced ceramics industries. Under Mike’s leadership OptiPro drew the attention of Eastman Kodak, who contracted OptiPro to build the first Computerized Optical Generator (COG) – a machine retrofit designed to manufacture optics. The COG vaulted OptiPro into the precision optics industry.
Mike’s work to secure research grants funding technological advancement critical to U.S. defense and security helped OptiPro earn the prestigious Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for achievements in innovation and job creation. Optical Society of America also awarded Mike the Paul F. Forman Engineering Excellence Award for producing the first affordable CNC machine designed for the optics industry. In addition, he was awarded the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster Entrepreneurship Award.
Mike is heavily involved in promoting the optics industry having served as a board member for the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, APOMA (American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association), Rochester Technology and Manufacturers Association, and SPIE Optifab Conference Program Committee.
Rick Plympton is the CEO of Optimax Systems, Inc., a precision optics manufacturer in Ontario, NY, where he has served since 1995. Under his leadership and vision, the company has grown from a small start-up to the largest precision optics manufacturer in the United States. With 40 years of experience in the optics and photonics industry, Rick has developed expertise in optical engineering, optics manufacturing, sales strategies, innovative HR policies, business leadership, and building a culture of lifelong learning and continuous improvement.
Rick is actively involved in supporting regional workforce development and the optics industry. He currently serves in leadership positions for several organizations including Trustee, Optimax Perpetual Purpose Trust; Director, Canandaigua National Bank; Director, Optica Foundation; Treasurer, Committee for Optics and Electro-Optical Instruments (OEOSC); Executive Committee, Business Leaders United; and Member, New York State Workforce Investment Board.
Rick has been inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame, and has earned the Aspen Institute Fellowship for Job Quality.
Kirk Warden is President at LaCroix Precision Optics which produces custom precision optics for the medical, defense, scientific, and industrial OEM device markets. Kirk has been with the company for over 19 years, and previously served as its Executive Vice President where he managed day-to-day operations and the sales and marketing efforts. Based in Batesville, Arkansas, LaCroix is one of the premier domestic volume and prototype manufacturers of custom precision optics.
Kirk previously served as President of APOMA (American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association), a broad constituency of precision optics manufacturers committed to promoting and advancing opportunities for the precision optics industry. In addition, he is a co-founder of the Arkansas Photonics Industry Alliance. Kirk also serves on the Batesville Regional Airport Commission and formerly served on the Lyon College Board of Trustees.
Bob Bicksler is former President and CEO of JML Optical Industries, LLC where he served for 12 years including navigating the company through its recent sale to Thorlabs. He previously served as President and CEO of TapRoot, a leading provider of software products and services for the mobile device market, prior to the sale of its business to Neusoft. With more than 30 years of operational and financial experience in manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications companies, Bob has a proven track record of growing companies and leading them to a successful exit resulting in superior returns to investor groups.
Bob has led and developed many companies as CEO, Executive Vice President, and/or Chief Financial and Administrative Officer including AT&T Canada; Howstuffworks.com International; Global Metro Networks; MetroNet; Performance Awareness Corporation; Seer Technologies, Inc.; and Megapath Communications.
Bob currently serves as Senior Advisor for Focus Investment Banking. His experience providing strategic merger and acquisition consulting services also comes from his former role as a Principal of Catalina Consulting during which he was responsible for evaluating numerous companies on behalf of private investment firms. He is an active member and advisor to several Boards.
Jenn Cable is President of Thorlabs, a vertically integrated supplier of photonics products, from optics, fiber optics, and optomechanical components to laser and microscope systems. Thorlabs is a family‐owned company founded by her father in 1989 and headquartered in Newton, NJ. Under Jenn’s leadership as President, the company is a thriving global organization that employs over 2700 employees with operations in nine countries.
Since joining Thorlabs in 2015, Jenn held a variety of positions that leveraged her previous experience leading a corporate strategy team that developed and executed strategic plans for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major company in the healthcare industry. Prior to that, she earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Vassar College and a master’s degree in bioethics from Columbia University, and worked for Population Services International in Laos as a Princeton-in-Asia Fellow.
Len Chaloux was the Founding President and CEO of Moore Nanotechnology Systems, LLC from its inception in October 1997 until his retirement in 2018. Nanotech is a global leader in the development, design, and manufacture of advanced machine tools and processes for the production of complex optical components used in today’s state-of-the-art consumer electronics, defense, aerospace, medical, lighting, and automotive sectors. With annual revenues exceeding $40M, and nearly 100 employees, the company has remained one of New Hampshire’s top 100 private companies since 2010, and was also named NH Company of the Year in 2008.
Len has travelled extensively throughout the USA and 26 other industrialized nations working with hundreds of leading companies in the field of precision optics fabrication. He is a charter member of the American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE), founded in 1986, and served two 3-year terms on its Board of Directors, most recently as President of the society in 2017. Len has authored numerous technical papers and given presentations in the fields of ultra-precision machine design, single point diamond turning, and deterministic micro-grinding and holds two US patents for related developments in this field.
Jessica DeGroote Nelson is Senior Director of Optical Product Development at Edmund Optics (EO) where she oversees the Strategic Optics Business Line. With more than 15 years of optical manufacturing industry experience, Jessica leads her team to help coordinate new product and manufacturing capability introduction into EO’s precision optics portfolio. She previously served as Director of Technology and Strategy at Optimax Systems, Inc., overseeing research and development and corporate strategic planning.
Jessica serves on the board of directors for SPIE (International Society of Optics and Photonics), and is senior editor of the society’s professional journal, Optical Engineering. In addition, she serves on the society’s audit committee and has chaired its annual conference, OptiFab.
Jessica works closely with future leaders in the optics manufacturing industry. She is an adjunct professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, Saunders School of Business, where she teaches Innovation and Technology Management Strategy; and at University of Rochester, Institute of Optics, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on optical materials, fabrication, and testing.
Birgit Gillman is retired from her 25-year career at Zygo Corporation, a division of Ametek, where she most recently held the position of Director of Optics Manufacturing. Birgit led the day-to-day operations of all aspects of high precision optics manufacturing for aerospace, military, semiconductor, research, and commercial applications. In addition, she was responsible for meeting revenue targets, ensuring product quality, on-time delivery, and driving customer satisfaction. As a lean-certified leader, she was also heavily involved in lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.
Birgit started her career in optics while a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the late 1980’s. She began interning at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics and joined the lab full time after graduation. She subsequently transitioned to work at the Center for Optics Manufacturing for nearly a decade.
Dr. Kathleen Richardson is UCF Trustee Chair, Pegasus Professor of Optics and Materials Science and Engineering, and Florida Photonics Center of Excellence (FPCE) Professor at CREOL/College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central FL, where she runs the Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory (GPCL). Kathleen and her research team carry out design, synthesis and characterization of novel glass and glass ceramic materials for optical applications. Her group has extensive industrial and government supported research developing novel materials for broadband infrared (IR) optical systems, gradient refractive index (GRIN) optics, precision molded optics, optical phase change materials, evaluation of complex multi-material interactions in next-generation integrated opto-electronic chip design, and in optical nano-composites for advanced chem-bio and detection applications.
In addition, Kathleen has authored more than 275 peer-reviewed publications, numerous proceedings, and book chapters, has a broad portfolio of IP related to these advances, and has organized and chaired multiple domestic and international meetings within her discipline. She is a fellow of multiple optics and materials-related societies, and an award-winning, internationally recognized leader in infrared glass research and education.
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