The industry’s most innovative people 2024 Boris Lange


Organisation: Edmund Optics Role: Manager Imaging Europe


Boris Lange, Manager Imaging Europe at Edmund Optics, is engaged in multiple projects focusing on the design of motorised lenses, diffraction-limited optics tailored for AR/VR applications, and athermal lenses. “These projects are driven by a diverse


clientele seeking pioneering solutions in the realms of medical technology, factory automation, and autonomous vehicles,” Lange says. “One of the most remarkable outcomes


of our recent research,” he adds, “was the successful creation of a bespoke athermal lens. We faced the unique challenge of


Bradford Behr


Organisation: Tornado Spectral Systems Role: CTO


Bradford Behr is currently working on developing new optical designs and products to enhance the performance of Raman spectroscopy. “These can provide deep insights into chemical processes for a multitude of industries, from bioprocessing to plastics recycling to petrochemical,” he says.


Behr believes that Raman spectroscopy’s


reputation as less sensitive than other spectroscopic modalities is undeserved. “It can actually get down to single-digit part-per-million measurements of chemical concentrations,” he says. Extending Tornado Spectral Systems’ technology “to be able to


Based in: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Education: PhD


accurately measure chemical composition of very small-volume quantities of liquid samples, as small as microlitres” is a near- term priority for Behr, despite it posing “many challenges”. Behr says the industry is still facing


supply chain issues from the Covid-19 pandemic, and he believes supply chains need "robustifying" against future disruptions. In relation to Canada specifically, he says it “has been historically supportive of the photonics sector, both at national and provincial levels, but maintaining that support amidst economic downturns will require focus and diligence”.


Carrie Ambler


Organisation: Durham University Role: Professor Based in: Durham/Newcastle, UK


Carrie Ambler is a professor in the Biosciences Department at Durham University and also Chief Scientific Officer of a spinout company, LightOx. Her work directly impacted the synthesis and biological testing of fluorescent chemicals for use as life sciences tools. These are now commercially available via Merck and are being developed to produce light-activated therapeutics for oral cancer treatments. Her research emphasis in the coming year will be on further harnessing the power of light to control cell behaviours. She believes recent advancements linking microfluidics


Education: PhD, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


with photonics for diagnosis are important for her interests in biophysics. “We need better point-of-care diagnostics and recent new advancements in this area will enable better medical device development and lives saved,” she says. Access to equipment can be a challenge,


however: “We are fortunate to work with the STFC and CLF, two essential facilities that allow us to access the lasers and microscopes we need.” You can connect with Ambler via


LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ carrie-ambler/).


Based in: Germany Education: PhD, physics, Mainz University


ensuring that beam pointing remained within a fraction of a pixel size across a broad temperature range. We also had to develop our own metrology techniques to meet these precise requirements, which added an extra layer of complexity to the project.” Over the coming year, Lange will be


involved in a research initiative that will revolve around high numerical aperture objectives for microscopy. The project will encompass the whole process, he says, ranging from design and component manufacturing to assembly procedures and testing methodologies.


16 Photonics100 2024


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