Navigating a Half-Century in Photonics and Electronics: Insights and Guidance for Emerging Scientists and Engineers: What Happened? What's Next?

Drawing from a 50-year career that started with 10 years of studying Chemistry, and which evolved through successive leadership roles in advanced materials, semiconductor lasers, power electronics, photonics, networking and laser systems, I will discuss a personal perspective on some of the transformations that I participated in. My informal remarks will recount experiences from my "First Act" over two decades at AT&T Bell Labs and its successors, followed by my "Second Act" also over two decades of executive leadership that helped propel II-VI Inc, now Coherent Corp from a small company with little over $100M in FY 04 Sales to over $5B in sales 20 years later, after which I retired from Coherent in June of 2024.

AT&T Bell Labs underpinned a vertically integrated pioneer in Communications Networks. Coherent is a market leading innovator in materials, networking and lasers with a substantial endowment of technology and talent. Coherent, a great company, is underpinning most of the mega-trends that are driving global growth in the industrial, communications, electronics and instrumentation markets. These include those technologies vital to the mobile, intelligent and electric market transformations. These include AI and machine learning, communications and computing infrastructure, industrial materials processing, displays, life sciences and power electronics to name some.

I will briefly describe my path, including the arc of my preparation and trajectory. I hope to impart a valuable understanding of the widespread global investments that have been made over the last 50 years in lasers, optics and photonics, the importance of innovation, perseverance and patience. I will briefly discuss my current view as to the technologies which are likely to be among those that emerge from a compound semiconductor foundation underpinning the landscape of optics and photonics, perhaps for the next 25-50 years.

In addition, I will reflect on some guiding principles to accelerate a career at any stage. This talk aims to equip those in the Accelerator with the insights and tips to navigate the shoals of an ever evolving and super-exciting fields of optics, lasers, and photonics. And, most of all, to inspire those in the Accelerator to stay with problems longer.

About the Speaker

Dr. Vincent D. (Chuck) Mattera, Jr, is a distinguished leader in the laser technology, photonics, and advanced semiconductor materials industries. He recently retired as the Chair and CEO of Coherent Corp. (formerly II-VI Incorporated, whose name changed after the acquisition of Coherent), in which capacity he served from 2016 to 2024. Under his leadership during his Second Act of 20 years, the company experienced significant growth, diversification and transformation. It achieved new heights of market leadership, including by the strategic acquisitions of Finisar and Coherent, Inc. which substantially expanded II-VI's reach into lasers, photonics, compound semiconductors, and advanced semiconductor materials and optics. Today, the company underpins every major market inflection.

He has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Brown University, and a BS in Chemistry from URI. Dr. Mattera is known as a hands-on technical operator with an enthusiastic and empathetic leadership style and a great sense of urgency around creating competitive advantage through breakthrough technologies at scale. He is recognized for making bold strategic decisions that have transformed industries. He is passionate about innovation, and inspiring top talent while providing sustainable breakthrough solutions that are enabling markets with irreversible megatrends. In addition to the Photonics ecosystem, his current focus is on opportunities to contribute to the energy transition, defense and space tech, the re-industrialization of America, and life sciences

Prior to his tenure at Coherent Corp., Dr. Mattera spent his First Act of 20 years in leadership roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, and Agere Systems, focusing on compound semiconductor optoelectronics, semiconductor laser devices, and related cutting-edge research and development for fiber-optic communications. Beyond his corporate leadership, Dr. Mattera is a former member of the US-Japan Business Council Board, and the Business Roundtable. He is a distinguished fellow of the World Economic Forum, a member of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Board of Directors, and a non-scholarly member of the Foreign Policy Leadership Council at the Brookings Institution. His leadership and vision continue to shape industries and inspire innovation and participants across sectors.

Chuck is currently the President and CEO of Avalanche Thinking, Inc. He believes that the best is yet to come and so is excited about the possibility of leveraging his experience and expanding his networks to have another far-reaching impact during his Third Act-of the Next 20 years through shared values, strategic innovation, collaboration, execution and mentoring.