Abstract
Established in 1982, Optikos is an engineering and instrumentation firm that uses optics as an enabling technology for clients with applications that include medical devices and diagnostics, virtual reality and consumer products, aerospace and defense systems, and automotive sensing and imaging applications.
In its earliest days, the field of optical engineering was focused on lens design and straightforward imaging systems. With each decade came hot new technologies and the sometimes-rapid rise and fall of companies looking to profit quickly from them. From the early commercial copiers and instant cameras to large scale reconnaissance systems to fiber optics, digital cameras and now lidar—Optikos has managed to stay the course. How have we done it? This talk is about taking a broad view, being open to any challenge, and staying nimble as technologies emerge, rise, and sometimes die while other technologies leap from a seemingly brash idea to widespread adoption.
About our Speaker
Stephen D. Fantone received his S.B. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Management from MIT, and his Ph.D. from The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. While completing his Ph.D., Dr. Fantone joined Polaroid Corporation, where he worked on the development of Polaroid products and technology.
Dr. Fantone is the founder and president of Optikos Corporation.
Dr. Fantone is currently serving as OSA president and is an OSA Fellow. He has served on the board of the OSA Foundation since 2004 and chaired OSA’s Strategic Planning Committee since 2015. He served as an OSA Board Member for two decades and as Vice-Chair of the 2016 Centennial Advisory Panel. As OSA Treasurer he chaired the Finance, Audit and Investment Committees, and during his 18-year tenure increased its financial reserves over 15-fold. For these activities Dr. Fantone received OSA’s Distinguished Service Award and in October, 2013, which now called the Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Fantone chairs the University of Rochester Dean’s Advisory Committee for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and serves on the Director’s Advisory Committee at The Institute of Optics, and he has received both the University’s Distinguished Alumnus and Distinguished Scholar Awards.
Dr. Fantone serves on the board of the Hertz Foundation which funds graduate level fellowships in the sciences at leading academic institutions, and the Lee Company, and recently completed an 8-year position as Chairman of the Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based public policy think tank. Previous board memberships including: Zygo Corp., Rofin-Sinar Technologies, Inc. and Benthos, Inc. (Chairman). Dr. Fantone is often consulted for his expertise in optical engineering and optical product development, served on numerous program review panels, provided expert testimony on patent infringement and trade secret litigation cases, and been awarded over 65 patents covering a broad range of optical technologies.