Susan Houde-Walter

Susan Houde-Walter - 2010 SPIE Women in Optics Planner

CEO, LaserMax, Inc.
Adjunct Faculty, College of Optical Sciences, Univ. Arizona-Tucson
Country of birth: USA
Country of residence: USA

Educational background: PhD in Optics

Susan Houde-WalterA typical workday.
Until recently I was a professor at the Univ. Rochester and very active with the OSA, serving as its President in 2005. When I moved to LaserMax (a company that I co-founded), I moved into the world of the military and law enforcement. This is a rugged world, quite unlike the university. We make laser and optical products for this community, and we continually introduce new technologies, but we make sure we understand their requirements fi rst.

What I enjoy most.
Many of our heroes are also our customers. I am fortunate because I get to spend a lot of time with them. I feel a strong sense of responsibility and service to this community.

Words of wisdom.
Life in the outside world is more exciting, diverse and compelling than I had imagined. I am happy here. Optical scientists and engineers can find challenging and meaningful work helping these people who devote their own lives to protecting the rest of us.