Scott Davis
CEO and Co-Founder
Dr. Davis is a physics-trained entrepreneur. He co-founded Vescent Photonics to develop photonic-based non-mechanical laser beamsteerers. This technology was sold off to Analog Devices for the automotive market. He has extensive business and technical experience including growing a technology manufacturing line, IP development, liquid crystal (LC) device physics, molecular and laser spectroscopy, precision metrology, and laser stabilization. While working at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD and JILA in Colorado, he acquired skills in laser stabilization, optical frequency metrology, and molecular spectroscopy. He has over 50 papers, two book chapters, and more than 25 patents pending or issued.
Dr. Davis obtained his Ph.D. from JILA under the tutelage of Prof. David Nesbitt and served as an NRC postdoc in the NIST laboratories of David Plusquellic.
Scott Rommel
COO and Co-Founder
Mr. Rommel has over 10 years of experience in LC-optic design and LC-device manufacturing, and over 15 years of experience in general optical assembly. He has designed and built ellipsometers for wavelength metrology and quality control in the manufacture of precision polarization optics, and he was the project lead for a liquid-crystal polarimeter and microelectronic controller. As a co-founder of Vescent, Mr. Rommel has developed micro-photonic and LC-waveguide test and assembly protocols. Mr. Rommel joined ADI in 2016 to develop commercial applications for Liquid Crystal Waveguide technology and returned to Vescent in 2019.
Kurt Vogel
CTO
Dr. Vogel has 20 years of experience developing photonics-based products. With expertise in optical-based precision measurements, nonlinear optics, optical spectroscopy, laser frequency stabilization, and optical frequency combs, he leads technology and product development at Vescent. Prior to joining Vescent, Dr. Vogel led an engineering team at MBio Diagnostics developing a fluorescence-based microarray reader for medical diagnostics. In 2000, he co-founded Precision Photonics, where he led technology development and developed products for laser-based metrology. As an NRC post-doctoral researcher at NIST Boulder, he performed some of the first optical frequency measurements with stabilized frequency combs.
Dr. Vogel's graduate thesis studies under Nobel Laureate Dr. John Hall involved laser cooling and trapping experiments with neutral strontium.
Russ Fein
CFO
Russ began his career as an investment banker working on complex M&A transactions, then in the merchant banking field negotiating acquisitions and investments. He held senior management roles at both small and large operating businesses, including a chain of martial arts studios and an internet incubator. Russ was the Vice President of Worldwide Business Operations for Westcon Group, where he was General Manager for a $300mm U.S. division. For nearly 20 years, Russ led Corporate Fuel’s $60 million venture portfolio. Most recently, he has maintained a blog on quantum technologies (www.quantumleap.blog) and has become a top quantum voice. In January of 2024, he led an investment round at Vescent Technologies, where he is now CFO and Board Member.
Mr. Fein received his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and graduated from Union College with honors in Managerial Economics.
Ruth McCurry
VP of Finance & Administration
Ms. McCurry brings 30 years of experience in high-tech manufacturing and government contracting, with expertise in both SBIR/STTR programs and prime contractors. She is a skilled accounting professional known for managing small business financial operations, streamlining processes to support operational efficiency, and implementing ERP systems aligned with corporate goals. Additionally, she has positioned businesses for successful mergers and acquisitions, managed external audits, and prepared accurate financial statements, demonstrating her ability to support and drive business growth and financial success.
Ms. McCurry holds a B.S. Accounting from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Eduardo Oteiza
VP of Sales
Dr. Oteiza has over 25 years of sales and business development experience in the laser industry. He began his commercial career at Coherent Inc, first with scientific customers and later developing OEM commercial sales in bio-instrumentation and continued his career growing sales in scientific and OEM commercial laser applications. As a post-doctoral researcher at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, he invented and patented a portable method of nuclear spin polarization for clinical environments. He continues to enjoy establishing long-term relationships with customers and learning new research and technologies that create new laser applications and solutions.
Dr. Oteiza earned his Ph.D. in experimental atomic physics at Harvard University where he performed an electric dipole moment experiment in search of evidence of CP violation, a still active research area in physics.
Kevin Knabe
Director of R&D
Dr. Knabe has extensive experience with laser stabilization and precision optical measurements. He has worked on a variety of spectroscopy experiments ranging from saturated absorption spectroscopy in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers under his graduate school advisor, Dr. Kristan Corwin, to comb-assisted spectroscopy using a quantum cascade laser in the mid-IR for rapid broadband spectroscopy at NIST under the guidance of Dr. Nathan Newbury. He also has a long history of laser stabilization with a wide range of sources (fiber and diode lasers across the visible and near-IR) to high finesse optical cavities to produce lasers that have sub-Hertz linewidths.
Dr. Knabe earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Kansas State University in 2010.
Andrew Attar
Director of Product Development
Dr. Attar completed his Ph.D. under the direction of Prof. Stephen Leone in 2016 at U.C. Berkeley, where he worked on developing nonlinear optics approaches to convert ultrafast mode-locked oscillators into femtosecond pulsed x-ray lasers for time-resolved atomic/molecular spectroscopy. At Vescent, he has worked on efforts involving system integration of narrow-linewidth lasers and frequency combs for optical atomic clocks and ultralow-noise microwave generation as a staff scientist. Dr. Attar has recently accepted the position of Director of Product Development and is overseeing the commercial release of critical laser systems for both laboratory and fielded applications.
Education: U.C. Berkeley, Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, 2016
Henry Timmers
Director of Advanced Technologies
Dr. Timmers has extensive experience in the fields of ultrafast science and laser frequency comb metrology. During his graduate work with Dr. Arvinder Sandhu and his post-doc with Drs. Stephen Leone and Daniel Neumark, Dr. Timmers used attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses to study entangled electron and nuclear dynamics in molecular chemical reactions. He then transitioned to an NRC position in the NIST Time & Frequency division where he employed his expertise in ultrafast science to develop few-cycle frequency combs under Dr. Scott Diddams. With these ultrafast combs, he developed a source to generate bright and broadband mid-infrared lasers that were applied to precision trace gas sensing and molecular hyperspectral microscopy. At Vescent, Dr. Timmers has recently accepted the position of Director of Advancing Technologies to vet emerging quantum and photonic technology, including next generation narrow linewidth laser and frequency comb solutions.
Dr. Timmers earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Arizona in 2014.
Isaac Weathersbee
Production Manager
Isaac Weathersbee has led Vescent Manufacturing since 2019. With 10 years of experience manufacturing lasers, optics, and high-performance control electronics, he has optimized inventory to dramatically reduce standard product lead times, minimized technician touch time via test automation, and improved product quality with manufacturing process improvements. He implemented Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles with great success, all while facilitating growth through team development, lean manufacturing methodologies, and cross-departmental collaboration. Prior to his current role, he joined Vescent's co-founders at Analog Devices, where he developed scalable fabrication processes and assembly tooling for non-mechanical beam-steering technologies.