People In The News

Laser Energetics Inc. of Mercerville, N.J., has hired consultant Jerome E. Dennis to help bring its Dazer Laser products into full compliance with the requirements of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the FDA. Dennis, a retired veteran of the CDRH, is an international expert in lasers and optical radiation safety and safety standards. He will assist Laser Energetics with the US government and FDA 21CFR regulations for its nonlethal Dazer Laser Guardian.

Bernd Strauss will succeed Torsten Nagel as manager of LPKF Laser & Electronics KK in Yokohama, Japan. Strauss, a mechanical engineer, has lived in Japan for several years and recently served as regional manager for an American tool manufacturer. LPKF, a manufacturer of machines and laser systems used in electronics fabrication, medical technology, and automotive and solar cell production, cooperates closely with distributors Brux Japan Co. Ltd. and Nihon LPKF PCB Equipment Distribution.

Semiconductor veteran Brian Wong has been elected to the board at Kotura Inc., a silicon photonics provider based in Monterey Park, Calif. Wong, with more than 30 years of leadership experience, is the president and CEO of rechargeable energy storage technology company Enevate Corp. Before joining the company in 2010, he was president and CEO of D2Audio.

Terry Allen is Perten Instruments Inc.’s new vice president of sales for North America. He will be responsible for all US and Canada lab and benchtop sales, including near-infrared instrumentation, grain testing equipment and rheological instruments. He also will manage the regional and key accounts managers, and work closely with the Process Instrumentation Group, the applications specialists and the service team. He will split his time between the company’s Springfield, Ill., headquarters and an office in Minneapolis.

Infrared sensor products supplier Pyreos of Edinburgh, Scotland, has completed the first stage of its global expansion with the appointments of Jeff Gray as vice president of worldwide sales and Roy Goodloe as USA sales director. The expansion into the US follows the appointment of Howard Ford as Pyreos chairman and capitalizes on the growing interest in the company’s miniature thin-film sensor arrays for mobile devices. Gray has more than 20 years of commercial business experience.

Bradley J. Bullington, current vice president of strategy and corporate development and general manager of technology solutions at LED supplier Bridgelux Inc. of Livermore, Calif., has been appointed CEO. He replaces William Watkins, who has been named chairman of the board. Bullington, who joined Bridgelux in 2010, has been responsible for the company’s overall business strategy and corporate and market development activities. He also ran its Technology Solutions business.

Ocean Optics of Dunedin, Fla., has named Dr. Jeff Throckmorton as vice president of global engineering for its optical sensing products and as a member of its board. He will be responsible for increasing the company’s line of spectrometers, chemical sensors, analytical instrumentation and accessories through internal engineering and open innovation initiatives. Previously, he was vice president of technology at Eltron Research & Development Co. and held multiple positions with subsidiaries of Danaher Corp.

The European Machine Vision Association (EMVA) in Barcelona, Spain, has appointed Thomas Lübkemeier as general manager. Lübkemeier’s machine vision industry experience will help to further EMVA’s growth, said President Toni Ventura-Traveset. Lübkemeier joined EMVA in 2008 and was responsible for a machine vision system and solution provider in Germany. He has founded and directed sales organizations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Pat Grace has been named North American sales manager for lasers and systems at Trumpf Inc.’s Laser Technology Center in Plymouth, Mich. He has 10 years of laser sales experience at Trumpf, where he most recently served as regional sales manager for the West Coast. Before that, he was regional sales manager for the TruMark marking lasers product line.