Former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Christopher Cox has joined Newport Corp.’s board of directors, the company announced. Cox is a partner in the corporate practice group of international law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP, and is president of its subsidiary Bingham Consulting LLC. Prior to joining the firm, from August 2005 to January 2009, Cox served as the 28th chairman of the SEC. In that role, he made enforcement of securities laws the agency’s top priority, bringing cases against a variety of market abuses. He led the international effort to more closely integrate US and overseas regulation to address the growth of global capital markets, and he championed the transformation of the SEC’s disclosure system to give investors better information. From 1994 to 2005, he served in the US House of Representatives; he was first elected to Congress in 1988. He served as chairman of many committees and was responsible for significant legislation. Newport supplies advanced technology products and systems for the scientific research, aerospace, defense and security, microelectronics, life and health sciences, and precision industrial manufacturing markets. For more information, visit: www.newport.com