Micro-LAM welcomes Jonathan D. Ellis, Ph.D. to the team! Jon comes to us with an extensive background in metrology, optical systems, instrumentation, and precision engineering. Jon joins use as VP of Research and Innovation, and will be responsible for spearheading R&D activities for machining new materials and developing new systems for future product offerings.
Jon received his B.S. (2005) and M.S (2007) in Mechanical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, completing his thesis work under the direction of Prof. Stuart T. Smith. Afterwards, he pursued doctoral studies at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands under Prof. ir. R.H. Munnig Schmidt, graduating in 2010. Jon has been tenured at both the University of Rochester and the University of Arizona as a faculty member with appointments in mechanical engineering and optical engineering. He joins us most recently from Clerio Vision, Inc., which was spun-off from the University of Rochester in 2014, where he is a co-founder and worked on advancing laser-based manufacturing systems for ophthalmic devices.
Along the way, Jon has mentored numerous students from undergraduates to PhD candidates; trained numerous employees from technical staff to senior engineers; taught courses related to instrumentation, systems, metrology, and optomechanical engineering; and designed, built, and qualified many optomechanical systems. In 2015, he was named a James P. Wilmot Assistant Professor and was a 2016 NSF CAREER Award recipient. He is active in the America Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE), SPIE, and Optica.