Loucas Tsakalakos is a Director of Engineering at Coherent Corp. He received his BS degree (1995) from Rutgers University, and his MS (1998) and PhD (2000) degrees in Materials Science & Engineering (with minors in Solid State Physics and Microelectromechanical Systems) from the University of California, Berkeley. His core expertise is in the integration of heterogeneous thin film and nanostructured materials systems for micro- and nano- device applications; he also has extensive experience in the characterization of materials. Dr. Tsakalakos joined the General Electric Research Center in Niskayuna, NY in 2000, where he led programs in advanced sensor systems, nanotechnology, next generation solar technologies, and worked within GE Energy to develop solar energy products, leading a product engineering team. Loucas was the Manager of the Photonics Lab (2012–2017), where he led a team of 20 PhD and MS level scientists and engineers developing advanced photonics technologies for data communications, sensing, and novel photonics applications. In 2018 he was appointed to the role of Business Program Manager, overseeing the R&D portfolio and business relationships at GE Research for the Energy-G&O and Transportation-Locomotives sectors. He also oversaw technology strategy and development in advanced photonics/optics and quantum technologies for GE applications, and also co-led an internal Sensor Synergy Council. From 2017-2018, Loucas was the CTO of an internal Sensor Solutions startup business, which commercialized chemical sensing technologies. Dr. Tsakalakos joined L3Harris in 2021 as a Senior Engineering Manager in the Space & Sensors division. In 2023 he joined Coherent as Director of Engineering. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi (The National Engineering Honor Society), is the author or co-author of over 50 journal, conference proceedings, and book chapter publications (over 100 total publications including GE internal reports), has given over 70 presentations at international conferences and workshops, and holds 19 U.S. patents.