Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Light News: Dec. 23, 2025

Here's another edition of Light News! Join host Justine Murphy as she follows the photons into some of the coolest, most exciting news impacting the photonics industry.

Launch & navigate: Marketing success

Host Justine Murphy talked recently with Michele Nichols, president of Launch Team Inc., a strategic marketing firm that helps photonics-focused companies to navigate change and ultimately boost their competitive advantage.
In this episode, Michele shares her perspectives on the state of the industry and where it’s headed, as well as some thoughts and hopes for the future.
 

Exciting times ahead

This episode features Dirk Hauschild, a Senior Strategic Marketing Expert with Focuslight Technologies.
He talks with host Justine Murphy about his more than 30 years of experience in the design, development, and integration of micro-optical components and systems, his work with Focuslight, and his thoughts on the future.

Reflections: A life of research

In this second installment of a two-part episode, Dr. Aydogan Ozcan—a chancellor’s professor in the Samueli Electrical & Computer Engineering school at UCLA, where he also leads the Bio- and Nanophotonics Lab—reflects on some important lessons learned throughout his career that he’s passing on to the next generation of researchers, and we delve into what’s needed to keep the U.S. competitive globally in the research and development realm.  

Light News 11.25.25

This week features another edition of Light News, a quick roundup of some of the coolest, most exciting news impacting the photonics industry. Let's go follow those photons!

Bringing research to life

Here, host Justine Murphy talks with Dr. Aydogan Ozcan, an extremely accomplished professor, lab leader, and mentor who has spent years studying and developing technologies in areas including computational imaging, deep learning optics, and microscopy.
This first of a two-part episode dives into some interesting aspects of his work and experiences in the photonics industry.

The balance for success

This episode features a fun, insightful interview with Lee Steneken, president of Esco Optics. He’s a third-generation president of the family-owned company who moved up the ranks from a part-time machine operator during his high school years, to various roles in marketing and sales after college, before taking the helm as president in 2011.
In this episode, he talks with host Justine Murphy about his years in the optics industry, finding the right balance between career and family life, and what the future holds for Esco Optics’ lasting legacy.
 

A researcher on the cutting edge

This week features a great interview with Dr. Tara Fortier, a project leader in the Time and Frequency Division at NIST, a role in which she oversees cutting-edge research in precision optical and microwave metrology, and laser source development.
She’s heavily involved in the scientific community via organizations like the American Physical Society and Optica, and active participation in outreach programs like SPIE’s Women in Optics.

Fate of laser materials processing

This episode features Sargis Hakobyan, an R&D team leader with SPhotonix. He joined the company earlier this year to lead its new photonics lab in Switzerland, where he is the Senior Laser Materials Processing Engineer.
Sargis is a multilingual laser physicist who has long focused in solid-state femtosecond and semiconductor laser development.

The entrepreneurial tech future

In this second installment of a two-part episode, Metalenz CEO Rob Devlin talks about what the future holds for the company and the industry overall, and offers some advice for others looking to take a similar path.