AIM Photonics News Release

Dr. Laursen Replaces Robert Duffy in Key Leadership Post, Will Help to Guide Photonics-Enabled Innovation Across New York and the Nation

The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) today announced the appointment of Dr. Tod A. Laursen, as Chair of the AIM Photonics Leadership Council, which focuses on the strategic and technical direction of the Institute. In this role, Dr. Laursen will hold leadership and oversight responsibilities, including direct engagement with industry and government stakeholders, strategic planning and management, and guiding photonics-enabled innovation.

“The promise of AIM Photonics is rooted in its network of researchers, innovative partnerships, and the exciting possibilities that integrated photonics can make a reality,” said Dr. Laursen. “I am honored to deeply engage with industry, academia, and government stakeholders in this new role to execute a strategy building on AIM’s successes to further enable a sustainable future and global manufacturing leadership related to this essential technology. I am so appreciative to Bob Duffy for his years of dedicated leadership and service and look forward to working closely with the AIM leadership team as we support the manufacturing institute’s R&D and commercialization efforts, anticipate increased collaborations, and facilitate technological competitiveness for the nation.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience throughout the past five years, and it has been both an honor and a privilege to work alongside and observe the super talented team of academic and business leaders,” said former Chair Robert J. Duffy. “They have done amazing work and deserve great credit for the many accomplishments of AIM Photonics, and they will not miss a beat with Tod Laursen as Chair. I am thrilled that Dr. Laursen will be replacing me, as I’ve worked with him as a SUNY Trustee and have enormous respect for his talent and leadership. I would like to be clear that my reason for resigning is due solely to a growing list of professional commitments and I can no longer dedicate the time and attention that the Leadership Council deserves from its Chair. I would like to thank the entire AIM team for providing me with this wonderful opportunity – it has been enjoyable and educational, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for the work of AIM Photonics.”

“We couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural Chair than Bob Duffy, and we are very grateful to him for his years of service and commitment to helping grow AIM Photonics while ensuring its long-term success,” said Dr. John Bowers, Deputy CEO and Acting Executive Director of AIM Photonics. “As we work toward a return to normalcy after the pandemic impacted nearly all aspects of life, the role of Chair is more important than ever. Between his expertise in mechanical and computational engineering, global network of business and professional relationships, and extensive experience advising scientific organizations, we are more than confident that Dr. Laursen is the right person to guide us through the next chapter of AIM Photonics.”

AIM Photonics is the nation’s premier Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC) manufacturing institute, advancing Integrated Photonic technology and associated workforce development. A public-private partnership founded in 2015, AIM Photonics is nationally recognized for creating the world’s first open-access, complete Integrated Photonic manufacturing ecosystem. AIM’s ecosystem provides the photonics industry, the academic research community, and the government access to a full suite of design tools, advanced wafer fabrication, testing, and chip packaging technologies throughout the entire product development cycle.

The AIM Photonics Leadership Council is a requirement of the Department of Defense and, under the guidance of Chairman Laursen, governs AIM Photonics. Leadership Council positions are volunteer and receive no compensation. AIM Photonics, through its Leadership Council and with guidance from the Leadership Council Chairman, has the opportunity to positively influence key industrial decision makers in their location and sourcing decisions. In addition to customary governance and oversight responsibilities, the Leadership Council works to increase industry participation through shared technology infrastructure in Albany and Rochester, and across the U.S.

About AIM Photonics
AIM Photonics is one of several Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, an industry-driven public-private partnership that focuses the nation’s premiere capabilities and expertise to capture critical global manufacturing leadership in a technology that is both essential to national security and positioned to provide a compelling return-on-investment to the U.S. economy. Learn more at www.aimphotonics.com.

About Dr. Tod A. Laursen
In December 2020, the SUNY Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Tod A. Laursen to serve as Acting President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Previously, Dr. Laursen was the Senior Vice Chancellor and Provost of the State University of New York (SUNY), a post he assumed in September of 2018. Dr. Laursen joined SUNY from Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he was the founding president and served as its leader since 2010. In February of 2017, KU as it exists today was formed by the merger of three Abu Dhabi higher education institutions: Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR); the Masdar Institute; and the Petroleum Institute. Dr. Laursen had served as the president of KUSTAR for the first seven years of his tenure in Abu Dhabi, and was subsequently named leader of the merged institution.

Prior to becoming President of Khalifa University, Dr. Laursen was a member of the faculty of Duke University (USA) between the years of 1992 and 2010, during which time he had appointments in civil engineering, biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering. He served as chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from 2008-2010, and served as senior associate dean for Education in the Pratt School of Engineering from 2003-2008. In the latter capacity, he had oversight responsibility for all undergraduate and graduate engineering programs at Duke.

Dr. Laursen earned his Ph.D. and Master of Science postgraduate degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor of science in the same subject from Oregon State University. He specializes in computational mechanics, a subfield of engineering mechanics concerned with development of new computational algorithms and tools used by engineers to analyze mechanical and structural systems. He has published over 100 refereed articles, book chapters, and abstracts, and has authored or co-edited two books. His particular focus is development of methods to analyze contact, impact, and frictional phenomena in highly nonlinear and complex systems.

He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the International Association of Computational Mechanics, and the United States Association for Computational Mechanics. He also holds memberships in the American Society for Engineering Education and Tau Beta Pi. He served as an at-large member of the Executive Committee for the United States Association for Computational Mechanics between 2007 and 2010, and served as a member of the Executive Council of the International Association for Computational Mechanics until earlier in 2020. Additionally, he has served on the scientific advisory committees of several of the most important national and international congresses in computational mechanics.

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