Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori is the founder, CEO and President of Pendar Technologies. He brings over 21 years of experience in the opto-electronic industry, leading research, developing new products, and building successful high-tech businesses. Dr. Vakhshoori has authored numerous publications and holds more than 70 filed or pending patents in the field of photonics and semiconductor devices. He received his BS from the University of California at Irvine and holds a PhD in Quantum Electronics from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a research scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories, later Lucent Technologies. Dr. Vakhshoori was a co-founder of CoreTek, Inc. (1996-2002), a high-tech company that developed novel tunable laser and optical filters for the telecommunication market based on micro-electromechanical technology. He founded Ahura Scientific (2002-2010), with the aim of moving advanced spectroscopic techniques out of scientific laboratories into the hands of non-specialist field operators. In 2010, Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired the company. Dr. Vakhshoori founded Pendar in 2011 to create intelligent chemistry systems.

After earning his Doctorate in Physics and a stint in a communication research laboratory, Professor Federico Capasso joined Bell Laboratories in 1976. There, in addition to his research activities, Prof. Capasso held several management positions including Vice President of Physical Research. He joined Harvard University in 2003. Prof. Capasso and his collaborators invented the quantum cascade laser (QCL) and he has led the development of high performance QCLs for over two decades at Bell Laboratories and Harvard University. For his ground-breaking innovations in photonics, he has received numerous awards and honors including the Rank Prize in Optoelectronics (UK) in 1998, the Edison Medal, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 2004, the American Physical Society Arthur Schawlow Prize in laser physics in 2004, and the King Faisal Prize for Physics in 2005, the Berthold Leibinger Zukunft Prize in 2010. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Optical Society of America, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Physical Society and the International Society of Optical Engineering. He co-founded Eos Photonics and is an active board member and a scientific advisor to Pendar Technologies.

Dr. Masud Azimi has over 18 years’ experience in both technical and management roles in the spectroscopy and photonics industry. Through his career, he has successfully led cross-functional research, product development, and manufacturing teams. Dr. Azimi received his BS in Electronic Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Iran and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University. He has authored and coauthored over 70 awarded and pending patent applications and more than 20 journal and conference papers. He started his career as research engineer at ITRC where he focused on fabrication and processing of optical fibers from 1986 through 1989. After obtaining his PhD in 1996 he co-founded CoreTek, Inc. and served as research scientist and director. He co-founded Ahura Scientific where, serving as VP, he led all the photonic platform development and manufacturing-transfer of the company’s flagship hand held products. After acquisition of Ahura Scientific by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2010, he continued his efforts in the development of new photonic spectroscopy products. He was a co-founder of Pendar Medical and is leading development of opto-mechanical systems at Pendar Technologies.

Dr. Romain Blanchard received his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and his MS from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, France. Previously, as Pendar’s Senior Director of Safety & Security and Director of Technology Development, he led the design of new products including Pendar X10, and oversaw internal R&D efforts and government programs. Prior to joining Pendar, Dr. Blanchard focused on the development of Quantum Cascade Laser technology as Senior Scientist at Eos Photonics. He is the author or coauthor of numerous technical papers and patents. Currently, as the Chief Operating Officer at Pendar Technologies, he oversees business operations and is responsible for the execution of the long-term objectives of the company.

Dr. Peili Chen received his PhD from the University of Hull, UK, MS from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his BS from the University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Chen authored and coauthored numerous peer-reviewed journal papers and patents. Dr. Chen was a principal engineer at CoreTek, Inc., developing vertical cavity lasers for telecommunication and continued in that role after the company’s acquisition by Nortel Networks in 2000. He was also a research scientist at Photonics Industries International on Long Island, NY and developed high power diode pumped solid state lasers. He was a key member of the R&D team at Ahura Scientific where he developed external cavity lasers and spectrometers used in Ahura’s handheld Raman analyzers, as well as optical engines of miniature FTIR spectrometers. Those instruments became successful commercial products and led to the acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific. He co-founded Pendar Medical. He is currently Principal Scientist at Pendar Technologies.

Dr. Laurent Diehl has extensive experience in QCLs, having done his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Jérôme Faist, (ETH Zürich, co-inventor of the QC lasers), and having worked in Prof. Federico Capasso’s group at Harvard University for six years. He has co-authored more than 70 publications on the subject and played a critical role in the first demonstration of high performance MOCVD-grown QCLs. Dr. Diehl was also involved in the DARPA-funded project EMIL and in additional research projects relevant to high-power QCLs which include the elucidation of beam-steering mechanics. Dr. Diehl was a co-founder and CTO of Eos Photonics. At Pendar Technologies, he leads the development of high-power laser solutions.

Seamus Fogarty brings a 24-year management background in corporate and operational finance, accounting and administration. Most recently he served as VP Finance and Corporate Controller at the leading eCommerce company, Gazelle. Previously, Mr. Fogarty served as Finance Officer for the Sungard Phase 3 Business Unit; as Director of Finance at Ahura Scientific; and other roles, including serving as the Corporate Controller for the NASDAQ listed Ziplink, Inc. He received a BS in Accounting from Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland and holds Certified Public Accountant status in Massachusetts. As Chief Financial Officer of Pendar Technologies, Mr. Fogarty supports the development of strategic business plans and financial metrics.

Dr. Christian Pfluegl received his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2005 from the Vienna University of Technology, Austria and his MS in Applied Physics from the University of Regensburg, Germany in 2002. From 2006 to 2010, he worked as a Research Associate at Harvard University in the group of Prof. Federico Capasso. His PhD and postdoctoral work focused on the development of Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology and QCL-based instruments and led to several high-profile collaborations with world-renowned industrial partners. Dr. Pfluegl has authored or coauthored more than 50 technical papers and more than 100 conference proceeding papers/presentations. He has also authored or co-authored numerous granted and provisional patents. In 2010, he co-founded Eos Photonics, where he served as VP of R&D and later as COO. At Pendar Technologies, he oversees the development and commercialization of QCL array technology.

Padraic Romfh earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University where he majored in Entrepreneurship and Biotech. He brings 20 years of experience in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries including product R&D, manufacturing, and marketing roles. Mr. Romfh began his career in product development and manufacturing for medical devices and diagnostic tools at Abbott before moving to Abbott’s International Marketing division, where he drove the launch and growth of pharmaceutical brands in countries around the world. He was a co-founder of Pendar Medical. He is currently responsible for connecting the requirements of the physician and the clinical environment to the technological capabilities of Pendar Technologies.

Dr. Greg Vander Rhodes received his BS in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and his MS and PhD degrees in Physics from Boston University. Dr. Vander Rhodes is the author of numerous technical papers and conference proceedings and a contributor to multiple patents. Dr. Vander Rhodes began his career at CoreTek, Inc. which was acquired by Nortel Networks. There, he contributed to the design and development of an optically pumped MEMS-based tunable VCSEL module. In 2002, he joined Ahura Scientific, where he built a team of software engineers to develop the FirstDefender and TruDefender lines of handheld analyzers (Raman and FTIR) for chemical identification. Following Ahura’s acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2010, he took on the role of Director of Software Development in the Portable Optical Analysis Division. Dr. Vander Rhodes co-founded Pendar Medical. He is currently the Director of Software Development.

Dr. Tobias Mansuripur received a PhD in Physics in the group of Federico Capasso at Harvard University, a MASt from Cambridge University, and a B.S. in Physics from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. His doctoral studies focused on understanding multimode operation of quantum cascade lasers and uncovered a novel harmonic mode-locking mechanism. He joined Pendar in 2016 as a Laser Scientist and is currently the Director of New Platforms.