You can look forward to hearing about the diverse career paths open to photonics students during our Panel Session. During this event, you will hear about how our successful panelists arrived at their careers, what is happening in their field today, and where they see the future of their field going.
Sarah Lukes, CEO, Agile Focus Designs
An NSF Graduate Research fellow, Sarah J. Lukes received an electrical engineering Ph.D. from Montana State University in 2015. Her diverse background includes working in orthopedics/radiology, cardiovascular stents, and cryogenics at the Mayo Clinic, Boston Scientific, and S2 Corporation, respectively. During her doctorate, she gained expertise in optical MEMS while publishing 14 papers. In 2015, Dr. Lukes started Agile Focus Designs to forge connections across disciplines for the advancement of miniature imaging, science, and healthcare.
Farhad Khosravi, Scientist, 1QBit
Farhad is a quantum optics scientist at 1QBit. His main focus is finding applications and benchmarking for emergent quantum optical devices. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta in 2020. His thesis is a fundamental work on the role of local angular momentum in light-matter interacting systems; pushing the frontiers in quantum spin photonics.
Jennifer Erskine, Scientist, Quantum Valley Ideas Lab
Jennifer tackles application-driven challenges in photonics and more in her scientist role at Quantum Valley Ideas Lab. Specializing in quantum technologies, QVIL is a not-for-profit research lab striving to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world solutions. Creative problem solving is a must, and Jennifer combines work in photonics, mechanical design, control systems, and rapid prototyping to help bring projects to life. She previously worked in engineering consulting in the mining and metals processing industry before pivoting back towards photonics through a M.Sc. in Physics at the University of Ottawa and the National Research Council.
Christian Reimer, Head of Product, HyperLight
Dr. Christian Reimer is a physicist and entrepreneur working in the fields of nonlinear optics, integrated photonics, and quantum optics. He received graduate degrees from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, and the National Institute of Scientific Research in Canada. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, before becoming Co-Founder and Head of Product of HyperLight Corporation. HyperLight, a Venture-Capital funded start-up out of Harvard University, specializes in integrated lithium niobate technologies for ultra-high performance photonic solutions.