Dr. Jeremy Yeak graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) from the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1999 with a focus on high voltage engineering and power systems. Upon graduation, he worked as a tutor at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) before coming to the USA to pursue his PhD in Optical Science and Engineering at the University of New Mexico, where he was fascinated by the possibility of using lasers to trigger and control lightning. During his grad school years, Jeremy Yeak served as the president of UNM OSA Student Chapter. After graduating in 2014, Jeremy Yeak joined Physics, Materials and Applied Mathematics, LLC where he secured a number of SBIR funding, particularly in studying the application of optical filaments for the standoff detection of nuclear materials, and terahertz-based station keeping equipment for the Department of Energy and US Air Force, respectively. Jeremy Yeak was the first to show thermal effects do influence the formation and propagation of optical filaments in air, especially at high repetition rates. After the successful completion of these SBIR projects, Jeremy Yeak formed Opticslah, LLC where he continues to serve as its president. At Opticslah, Jeremy Yeak is developing broadband dual frequency comb sources for high precision plasma spectroscopy that may be used to identify nuclear materials, and can also be used to investigate highly transient events.

Dr. Yeak is also a Senior Member of IEEE and a lifetime member of SPIE and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Dr. Mark C. Phillips is the vice president of research at Opticslah, LLC, as well as, an associate research professor at the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona. His research interests include developing new techniques and instrumentation for laser-based spectroscopy and sensing of materials in all phases of matter. He is currently developing new swept-wavelength external cavity quantum cascade lasers (ECQCLs) for high-performance infrared spectroscopy and sensing of gases and solids. Applications include standoff chemical plume detection, trace gas sensing, and measurements in extreme environments including combustion and explosive fireballs. He is researching new laser-spectroscopy techniques for measurement of atoms in laser-induced plasma systems, including isotopic resolution and standoff detection capabilities. He is also continuing to develop spectral analysis and optical modeling of atoms and molecules for use in high-temperature plasma and explosive fireball conditions. At Opticslah, LLC he is leading efforts toward commercialization of the swept-ECQCL technology and investigating new application areas for laser-based spectroscopy and sensing.

Mark received a Ph.D. in Physics in 2002 from the University of Oregon, where he worked in the lab of Dr. Hailin Wang researching quantum optics in semiconductor systems. Following graduation, Mark was employed as a postdoctoral fellow at Sandia National Laboratory from 2002-2005, and studied quantum coherence effects in semiconductor quantum dots. He was a senior-level scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) from 2005-2018, where he led development of high-performance external cavity quantum cascade laser systems for mid-infrared spectroscopy and sensing, atomic isotope spectroscopy in laser-induced plasmas, and optical modeling of explosive fireballs.

Dr. Phillips is a Senior Member of Optica.

Dr. Jim Riker is a physicist and mathematician with over 40 years of experience in High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon systems, optical observing systems, optical sensors, atmospheric optics analysis and simulation, active and passive tracking, space technology, space environment, algorithm development and experiment design. Previously, Dr. Riker worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in civilian employment for 21 years and achieved the rank of Senior Executive Service (SES) while he was Chief Scientist at the Space Vehicles Directorate. Prior to joining Space Vehicles, Dr. Riker was the Technical Director for the Optics Division of AFRL/RD (Directed Energy), running both the internationally recognized Starfire Optical Range (SOR) in Albuquerque, NM, and also the Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS).

One of the most productive periods in Dr. Riker’s career occurred while he was in the Optical Surveillance System Program Office (SPO), where he served as Technical Advisor to both the System Engineering and Program Management Divisions. He devised and ran numerous critical risk reduction experiments at SOR in the area of atmospheric compensation, tracking, and pointing. His experiments produced excellent satellite tracking and imaging, including the first-ever continuous active imaging of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and the best-ever active and passive tracking results for fast-moving satellites. In fact, over a 7-year span, Dr. Riker published over 500 Technical Engineering Memos (TEM) documenting the achievements of the analysis and experimental teams he led. Dr. Riker spent the first several years of his career in private industry and made exceptional contributions to major Air Force programs such as the Zenith Star SBL weapon system, the space-based Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) system with Los Alamos National Lab, and the Relay Mirror Experiment (RME) at Maui. While at R&D Associates, he served as program manager and principal author of the Time-domain Analysis Simulation for Advanced Tracking (TASAT). This code produced for the first time a high-fidelity one-on-one engagement simulation for laser weapons systems. TASAT remains the state-of-the-art AFRL simulation tool for advanced acquisition, tracking and pointing systems.

Dr. Riker is a Fellow of the Society for Photo-optical and Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), a Fellow of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the winner of the 2005 Air Force-wide Harold M. Brown award for Technology Transition.