3 Questions with Susan Houde-Walter of LaserMaxDefense

Your online profile says you were the first female regular faculty member of the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. You completed your undergraduate degree at Sarah Lawrence College, which has a reputation as a school of humanities. How did you bridge science and humanities, and why optics?

It’s true that I was brought up as an artist. I was exploring a new medium — holography — but I quickly became enamored with the science. Optical science opened the world for me.

Susan Houde-Walter

You’ve had a very distinguished entrepreneurial career that spans optics, lasers, and the defense industry. And congratulations on your recent National Women’s Hall of Fame Keeper of the Flame award. Is there anything you haven’t done that you’d still like to accomplish?

Thank you for your kind words. I launched LaserMaxDefense (LMD), an IP-rich manufacturer that hardens and miniaturizes laser systems, with particular expertise in quantum cascade laser technology, packaging, and devices. We are rapidly expanding our industry partnerships and I’m looking forward to our continued growth.

You’ve had such a creative and wide-ranging professional life. Do you miss optics?

Optics remains my passion, but I have found that I can have an immediate impact on the world through business. Business/trade is one of the most basic ways that people come together, and I've thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.