Sunday, May 16, 2021

AIM Photonics appoints Laursen as chair of leadership council

The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) appointed Dr. Tod A. Laursen, as Chair of the AIM Photonics Leadership Council. In this role, Dr. Laursen will hold leadership and oversight responsibilities, including direct engagement with industry and government stakeholders, strategic planning and management, and guiding photonics-enabled innovation.

Dr. Tod A. Laursen currently serves as Acting President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Previously, Dr. Laursen was the Senior Vice Chancellor and Provost of the State University of New York (SUNY), a post he assumed in September of 2018. Dr. Laursen joined SUNY from Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he was the founding president and served as its leader since 2010. Prior to becoming President of Khalifa University, Dr. Laursen was a member of the faculty of Duke University. He earned his Ph.D. and Master of Science postgraduate degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor of science in the same subject from Oregon State University.

“The promise of AIM Photonics is rooted in its network of researchers, innovative partnerships, and the exciting possibilities that integrated photonics can make a reality,” said Dr. Laursen. “I am honored to deeply engage with industry, academia, and government stakeholders in this new role to execute a strategy building on AIM’s successes to further enable a sustainable future and global manufacturing leadership related to this essential technology. I am so appreciative to Bob Duffy for his years of dedicated leadership and service and look forward to working closely with the AIM leadership team as we support the manufacturing institute’s R&D and commercialization efforts, anticipate increased collaborations, and facilitate technological competitiveness for the nation.”