CAMARILLO, Calif., July 19 -- Advanced Photonix Inc. has elected a new chairman of the board to take the place of Hayden Leason, who recently retired to pursue other endeavors, the company said. Richard Kurtz, who became a director of Advanced Photonix in February, and is currently vice president of sales and marketing at Filtertek Inc. in Hebron, Ill., has been named as the company's new chairman of the board. Advanced Photonix has also elected Susan Schmidt as its corporate secretary in addition to her current role as the company's CFO. Advanced Photonix develops and manufactures large area avalanche photodiodes.