Mary Potasek
Princeton,New Jersey
Summary
Dynamic professional with a diverse background and extensive experience across multiple sectors, showcasing a robust foundation in both academia and industry. Notable achievements include groundbreaking advancements in optical and electronic fields, encompassing novel materials, quantum noise, semiconductors, nanotechnology, and healthcare. Contributions as a technical staff member at a leading telecommunications company resulted in significant breakthroughs in optical communications and short-pulsed lasers. As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of a technical startup, expertise in managing and securing multi-million dollar SBIR funding has driven innovation in critical areas such as photomedicine, medical devices, and cancer therapy, complemented by a proven track record of obtaining substantial government funding and numerous published technical papers and patents.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Scientific Officer
Simphotek PDT
Princeton, NJ
01.2016 - Current
- Developed breakthrough image-based laser-drug computer assisted technology platform to treat internal cancers such as lung, bronchus, esophagus, breast, pancreas, testicular, brain, and others.
- Principal investigator (PI) on SBIR, STTR, R01 and DoD grants generating about $10 million dollars in non-dilutive funding.
- PI on 7 NIH grants including one for a Phase I/II clinical trial (NCT0375095). Initiated and led collaborations on multiple SBIR grants with physicians and researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Roswell Park Cancer Center, and Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
- Co-inventor on five patents including 3 issued patents and 2 PCI pending applications.
Co-founder and Angel Investor
Keiretsu Forum New York Chapter
New York, NY
01.2016 - Current
- Keiretsu Forum World's largest Angel Network, 3000+ accredited investors, 53 cities worldwide, $1 billion invested.
- Led and co-wrote 25+ Due Diligence Reports (DD) averaging 150 pages in (1016-2024) and AI technology in (2025).
- DDs included Business Summary, Marketing, Financial, Manufacturing, Technology, Regulatory, and Intellectual Property.
- Angel investor-personally invested in 9 startup technology companies, including batteries, systems, AI knowledge management, Immunotherapy drugs, optical filters, novel batteries, T-cell therapy, ultrasound diagnostic for ear infections, AI for customer management, and crowdfunding.
- Increased funding to startups by 25% with strategic investment selection and mentorship.
President
Simphotek
Newark, NJ
01.2007 - 01.2015
- Initiated and participated in developing 6 novel software areas that replaced multiple equations for solving laser-initiated activation in organic molecules, reducing simulation time from 10 months to 3-5 weeks.
- Developed marketing plan to sell this software to international 4 users resulting in multiple sales.
- Created company pivot to cancer therapy using background in lasers, devices, materials, drug, software, chemistry, mathematics and business.
- Led cross-functional 9 member team to implement innovative solutions, improving product delivery timelines.
Research Professor
New York University
New York, NY
- Oversaw creation of laser propagation models, managing three AROSR grants for about $4.1 million as Principle Investigator in partnership with New York University.
- Initiated and led 6 member research and development efforts focused on nonlinear optical materials leading to commercial applications.
- Orchestrated 4 comprehensive studies in partnership with NYU and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) focused on cutting-edge materials to protect Air Force fighter pilots from enemy lasers receiving Outstanding Achievement Award.
- Obtained successful outcomes and 3 referred publications with postdoctoral fellows, including Andrew Paul PhD, Sukkem Kim PhD, and Gordon Wilson PhD.
- Fostered collaboration between New York University and AT&T Bell Laboratories, leading to project effectiveness and 3 conference presentations.
- Collaborated in co-authoring 8-10 peer-reviewed publications focused on properties and applications of semiconductor quantum dots and nonlinear multiphoton materials.
- Developed and presented award-winning research on semiconductor optical switching to advance high bandwidth optical networks at the 9th Conference on Information Systems Analysis and Synthesis.
- Initiated collaboration with AT&T Bell Laboratories to translate research findings into practical and presented patents and two conference papers.
- Initiated and led 2 interdisciplinary research projects, fostering collaboration among 2 faculty members and 2 graduate students.
Member of Technical Staff
Air Force Research Laboratory
San Antonio, TX
- Received Outstanding Research Award for boosting Air Force fighter jets' security by 75% through innovative solutions.
- Initiated and served as Principal Investigator on 5 AFOSR grants with the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop analysis of materials for laser protection.
- Collaborated on technical projects, providing support in research and development activities.
- Led the development of technology protecting US jet fighter aircraft from being shot down by enemy lasers.
- Analyzed the effects of 19 lasers with wavelengths from the visible to the infrared spectral regions with long and ultrashort pulses.
- Outlined and performed 8 laboratory experiments that determined the properties of multiphoton nonlinear materials used to protect pilot's eyes from airborne lasers.
- Performed 15 laboratory experiments using femtosecond and nanosecond lasers to determine the properties of multiphoton materials.
- Developed novel measurements on eyes (human) to determine the damage due to high power lasers.
Research Associate Professor
Columbia University
New York, NY
- Initiated and served as Principle Investigator on 14 grants totaling about $9 million from NSF, DOD, NASA, ARO, and AFOSR to advance scientific knowledge and innovation.
- Guided Columbia University PhD thesis focused on "Quantum Optics and Squeezed States".
- Executed comprehensive research and simulation of GaAs nonlinear absorbers to improve infrared laser effectiveness.
- Developed 3 protocols for ultra-wideband optical communications aimed at determining optimal light transmission range.
- Reduced the laser pulse width by 10x resulting in a twenty-fold increase in telecommunications systems performance.
- Incorporated femtosecond lasers with semiconductor nanotechnology focusing on polymers and multiphoton organic materials for 3x material performance.
- Authored or co-authored 17 scientific publications in leading referred journals, enhancing research visibility.
- Coordinated research initiatives with a team of 4-7 members, effectively managing a budget of $5.9 million to drive project success.
Technical Staff
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Princeton, NJ
- Conducted research that significantly improved telecommunications network range by 35-45%, earning Outstanding Achievement Award for contributions to long-distance optical communications.
- Executed comprehensive measurements and simulations to analyze soliton transmission in optical fibers.
- Created a comprehensive measurement system for optical fiber parameters, specifically targeting propagation distance analysis.
- Conducted statistical analysis of bit-rates and error rates in optical fiber telecommunications networks.
- Authored or Co-authored 31 papers on quantum optics and quantum communications, nanotechnology, nonlinear and linear experiments on organic and inorganic molecules, optical switching, femtosecond laser experiments on semiconductor quantum dots in an organic matrix.
- Developed and implemented breakthrough simulations aimed at enhancing noise reduction in quantum mechanical systems utilizing squeezed states in optical fibers.
- Authored book chapter: M.J. Potasek, "High-Bandwidth Optical Networks and Communications", pp. 460-545, ed. H. Naira, Photodetectors and Fiber Optics, Academic Press, New York.
- Created and sustained detailed documentation to enhance understanding of system processes and technical specifications.
Education
PhD - physics
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, IllinoisMS - physics
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, IllinoisBA - mathematics
University of St. Catherine and Macalester College
St. Paul, MinnesotaSkills
- Experimental and computational optics, optical communications
- Photomedicine, medical devices, nanotechnology
- Quantum communications; quantum computing
- Company co-founder, angel investor
- Fast lasers, optical communications
- Networking and relationship building
- Innovative problem-solving
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Research project management
- Creative thinking
Accomplishments
- PhD Scientist, Fellow SPIE
- Entrepreneur, co-founder of a laser-drug based cancer therapy company.
- Principal Investigator on over $20 dollars in research and technology grants in addition to about $14 million dollars in SBIR grants for medical devices.
- Co-Led development of technology platform treating multiple cancer indications leading to significantly improved overall survival for Stage IV cancer patients.
- Co-authored over 35 business due diligence reports, positively impacting investment decisions totaling multi-million dollar investments.
- Co-invented five patents, driving innovation in medical, materials, and laser technology fields for cancer therapy, devices and novel optical materials.
- Author or co-author on over 110 scientific publications and 35 conference papers 19 of which were invited. international invitations.
Beta Kappa, SPIE Fellow, NSF Fellow, NATO Fellow, AAUW Fellow, Fulbright Fellow finalist
Phi Beta Kappa, Minnesota Chapter
Pi Mu Epsilon, mathematics
Fulbright Fellow finalist
SPIE Fellow, International Society of Optical Engineers
NATO Fellow, Max Plank Institute, Germany
NSF Fellow, Princeton University
AAUW Fellow, Princeton university
Timeline
Chief Scientific Officer
Simphotek PDT
01.2016 - Current
Co-founder and Angel Investor
Keiretsu Forum New York Chapter
01.2016 - Current
President
Simphotek
01.2007 - 01.2015
Research Professor
New York University
Member of Technical Staff
Air Force Research Laboratory
Research Associate Professor
Columbia University
Technical Staff
AT&T Bell Laboratories
PhD - physics
University of Illinois
MS - physics
University of Illinois
BA - mathematics
University of St. Catherine and Macalester College