idestaQE
Idesta Quantum Electronics (IQE) was founded in April 2010 by Professors Jim Fujimoto and Franz Kärtner from the Research Laboratory of Electronics (rLe) at MIT, Alex Cable, founder and president of Thorlabs, Inc, and Dr. Peter Fendel. Dr. Fendel will lead the organization as its CEO.
The IQE operating team is comprised of highly-motivated, competitive individuals, driven by the objective to not only provide ‘best in class’ products, but also by the deep desire to satisfy our customers. IQE is a small, strong and flexible yet proven group, configured to react quickly to customer needs and to innovate on the most modern trends in laser technology.
IQE's Founders
Alex Cable is the founder and President of Thorlabs, Inc. Thorlabs is a leading manufacturer of laser and fiber optic components and instrumentation, including novel biomedical imaging systems. Mr. Cable has grown Thorlabs from a fledgling basement business in 1989 to a global photonics industry leader. Thorlabs has manufacturing and sales offices in the US, Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan and China, with over 600 employees worldwide.
In his limited free time Alex is a passionate marathon runner and cyclist.
Professor James. G. Fujimoto is a principal investigator for rLe at MIT. His area of research involves the development and application of femtosecond laser technology, studies of ultrafast phenomena, and laser medicine and surgery. His research group at rLe, along with other collaborators, invented optical coherence tomography (OCT) and pioneered its development.
Professor Fujimoto has published over 250 journal articles, edited or authored 5 books, and currently holds numerous U.S. patents for his discoveries. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His many honors include the 1999 Discover Magazine Award for Technological Innovation and the 2001 Rank Prize in Optoelectronics.
In addition to his academic achievements, Professor Fujimoto was co-founder of two successful startup companies which commercialized his inventions around OCT.
Professor Franz X. Kärtner is a full professor at MIT's rLe. His research interests include classical and quantum noise in electronic and optical devices; femtosecond lasers and their applications in frequency metrology; precision timing distribution, high speed signal processing and attosecond science. Professor Kärtner has published over 200 journal articles, edited or authored 4 books or book chapters and holds more than 20 patents in the area of ultrafast optics. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
When not working Franz enjoys the outdoors and cycling together with his family.
Dr. Peter Fendel, who earned his PhD working with Noble Laureate Professor Ted Hänsch at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, has more than 10 years of experience in photonics, including building and leading the US based Menlo Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Menlo Systems GmbH, before joining the IQE team.
Peter is an outdoor enthusiast and loves cycling and long distance running.