23 June 2011

Crystal IS’ board gains entrepreneur to aid UVC LED commercialization

Crystal IS Inc of Green Island, NY, USA, which makes ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) on aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates, has appointed Dr Kevin J. Knopp to its board of directors. Most recently Knopp served as vice president for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc of Waltham, MA, USA in its Portable Optical Analysis business unit.

“With Kevin Knopp’s success in commercializing innovative technology, particularly in the compound semiconductor industry, we are fortunate to have his counsel and recommendations as we begin delivering UVC LEDs to market on a global basis,” says chairman Nicholas Wood. “We expect our products to significantly impact the landscape of water, air, and surface disinfection technology, bringing about much-needed change for the world,” he adds. “Today we are working with large global customers to integrate our technology into their designs.”

Knopp has held many roles from R&D to sales and operations leadership. Most recently, he co-founded Ahura Scientific in 2002 and was responsible for engineering, government research, operations, and the safety & security business vertical. He then transitioned to business leader for one of Thermo Fisher’s global business units after Ahura was acquired by them. Previously, he was the manager of vertical-cavity laser development at CoreTek Inc, which was acquired by Nortel Networks for $1.4bn in 2000.

Knopp has more than 15 US patents, and his products have received R&D 100, Business Week IDEA, GSN, CPhI Gold, Cygnus, and Frost & Sullivan awards. He also has a B.S.E.E. from Boston University, and M.S.E.E. and Ph.D degrees in Optics from the University of Colorado.

“The team at Crystal IS are in a unique position just now,” comments Knopp. “They have proven to be the technology benchmark in the emerging space of UVC LEDs. Now they need to bring the business into full realization with clear and focused customer strategies and selective partnerships,” he adds. “I look forward to being an integral part of that.” 

See related items:

UV LED market to grow at nearly 30% to over $100m in 2016

Tags: Crystal IS Germicidal LEDs UVC LEDs

Visit: www.crystal-is.com