Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Terje Skotheim, Ph.D.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Terje is a world-renowned scientist in physics and materials science. For more than 25 years, after a successful academic career, Terje has focused on bringing technologies from the laboratory to the product stage, including advanced MEMS technology, spectrometers & sensors, lithium batteries, biosensors, and high-power lasers. Terje is part of 70 patents, 5 patent applications, and more than 200 publications. He is a founder of several start-up companies. He holds a B.S. in Physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley.
Bruce Berkoff
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Bruce has a long history and wealth of global experience in the technology industry, having held key marketing (CMO) positions at several leading technology companies. Bruce is currently an Advisor/Mentor at SkyDeck Berkeley, EIR at Vonzos Partners, Chairman of the LCD TV Association, and a frequent advisor to various startups. He was also CMO at CBRITE, CMO/CSO at Applied Materials (AMA T)/AKT, and EVP CMO at LG Philips LCD, and others. Bruce holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physics and Biophysics from Princeton and UC Berkeley, respectively. He has been on the BoD of 5 public companies, including LG Display.
Wade Poteet, Ph.D.
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
With more than 30 years experience as a research physicist/engineer, Wade has emphasized system design and manufacturing of advanced instrumentation in optics, electro-optics, and detector technology from X-rays to the far infrared spectrum, including ultra-high precision devices and large telescopes. He has received recognition awards from NASA and has a B.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
John Coates, Ph.D.
VP Optical Design
John is a veteran of the optics and spectroscopy industry with a storied career, including at Perkin-Elmer & Nicolet, with over 30 years of experience in optical spectroscopy, instrumentation & sensor design. John has been responsible for developing over 90 spectroscopy systems with a focus on miniaturization and has made key contributions to the Lightsense spectrometer products.
Richard Kris Ph.D
VP Biotechnology
Rick oversees application to non-invasive biomedical diagnostics and is coordinating collaborative work with academic research laboratories. Rick studied virology, concentrating on Influenza virus infection and has a long career (over 30 years) in diagnostics and biomedical technology, having served on the faculty of NYU School of Medicine before joining the biotech industry, first as a senior scientist at Selectide, a drug discovery company, before becoming a founder/partner in Nuvogen Research, a successful drug discovery startup.
Joshua Nelson
VP Finance
Josh provides financial and organizational leadership in Lightsense, including ongoing financial management, financial & tax strategy, and risk management strategy. He plays a key role in organizing the manufacturing supply chain for Lightsense spectrometers. Previously, he has provided financial leadership for multinationals (Mettler-Toledo Process Analytics) and Tucson-based startups (Sion Power Corporation, Instant Bioscan). Josh has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.
Kevin Harris
VP Engineering
Kevin has over 20 years of experience, including managing large programs in engineering design of optical systems and instruments, including extensive work on telescopes and space optical platforms. Kevin has extensive experience in writing software using all major protocols of electronic communication. Earlier in his career, Kevin was a Sr. Electronics and Electrical Engineer at the University of Arizona Optical Sciences. Kevin is responsible for the electronic design and data acquisition and control.
Michael Berman
VP Manufacturing
Mike has 30 years' experience in microchip and MEMS development and manufacturing in the US and Asia, covering chip design, process and equipment engineering, maintenance, and production. Mike has been responsible for engineering and R&D at Advanced Micro Devices, LSI Logic and Sematech, and has over 50 patents in chip processing technology. He has played leadership roles in building manufacturing plants from Texas to Malaysia. Mike oversees manufacturing of the current Lightsense drug detection products and the manufacturing supply chain.
Michael Stanley
VP Machine Learning
Mike oversees the critically important machine learning and cloud database design, a core element in the Lightsense spectroscopy system design. His career spans three decades at Motorola Semiconductor, Freescale Semiconductor, and NXP Semiconductor, where he led efforts in machine learning development for the Sensor Division. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, a contributor to the IEEE Standard for Sensor Performance Parameter Definitions (IEEE Std 2700TM-2014) as well as the 2nd edition of the Measurements, Instrumentation, and Sensors Handbook by CRC Press. He was inducted into the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group Hall of Fame in 2015 and he is an active member of the Industry Advisory Board for the NSF-funded Sensor, Signal, and Information Processing Center (SenSlP) at Arizona State University.
Gordon Davidson
VP Government Programs
Gordon is overseeing Lightsense activities directed at the federal government. Gordon comes from a long and successful career in Federal Government agencies. Gordon was a Director at EPA and advisor to DOE under Clinton and has subsequently been advising a number of early stage companies, with a focus on energy and environment. Gordon is a graduate of Duke University.
Stephen Whalley
Board Director
Steve’s career includes 25 years with Intel Corporation in pan-European and US functions directing multiple product and technology development programs. He has led and served on multiple industry association boards in the semiconductor and MEMS/sensors arenas impacting numerous successful technology developments such as USB, PCI and others.