Meet the Team

  • Nicholas Kelez

    CEO

    Nicholas serves as Chief Executive Officer of xLight. Before assuming the CEO role, Nicholas led the development effort to build the world’s first useful quantum computer at PsiQuantum.

    Nicholas spent 20 years in the Department of Energy National Lab system building and operating large scale, x-ray science facilities and instrumentation. Starting at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, he developed novel instrumentation and upgrades for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) and Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) user facilities. He then moved to SLAC National Lab at Stanford where he was the Chief Engineer for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a 3-mile-long x-ray free electron facility for ultrafast science.

    Nicholas is a native of California and earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Dr. Gennady Stupakov

    CHIEF SCIENTIST

    Dr. Gennady Stupakov serves as Chief Scientist at xLight. Before joining the company, Dr. Stupakov was a Senior Scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA for 29 years. Dr. Stupakov first came to the United States in 1991 to join the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory in Waxahachie, TX, before moving to SLAC in 1994. Dr. Stupakov began his career at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk where he earned his Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences degrees. At the same time, he taught various physics courses at Novosibirsk University where he held a position of professor of physics.

    His scientific interests cover a broad range of topics in accelerator physics, including collective effects in beam dynamics and theory of free electron lasers. He has more than three hundred papers published in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

    He regularly teaches accelerator physics courses at the U.S. Particle Accelerator Schools.

  • Ed Daly

    CHIEF ENGINEER

    Ed Daly is the Chief Engineer at xLight. Prior to joining the company, Ed spent more than 20 years at Jefferson Lab (JLAB) where he held a number of roles across cryomodule production and accelerator engineering and led groups across multiple divisions.

    In the middle of his tenure at JLAB, Ed left to spend four years as a Senior Mechanical Engineer at ITER, an international, large-scale scientific collaboration intended to prove the viability of fusion as an energy source. Ed began his career as a mechanical engineer at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where his work focused on high-heat load vacuum system components for a high-energy physics machine.

    Ed earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University and his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

  • Andrew Burrill

    VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIALIZATION

    Andrew Burrill is Vice President of Engineering and Industrialization at xLight. Before joining xLight, Andrew spent the last 20 years at Department of Energy National Labs across the country as well as working in Germany at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, a world class research center for energy materials research.

    In his previous roles Andrew has worked on multiple large scale accelerator construction projects including LCLS-II at SLAC and the CEBAF 12 GeV upgrade at Jefferson Lab. His focus has been on deployment of superconducting RF accelerators and project management of projects up to $1B.

    Andrew earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the State University of NY at Stony Brook.

  • Dr. Bruce Dunham

    VICE PRESIDENT OF ACCELERATOR SYSTEMS

    Bruce Dunham is Vice President of Accelerator Systems at xLight. Prior to xLight, Bruce was a Distinguished Scientist at the Nevada National Security Sites, working on issues critical for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Before supporting NNSA’s work, Bruce spent seven years at the SLAC Accelerator Laboratory, most recently serving as Accelerator Director and Associate Lab Director.

    Bruce spent a decade in academia before entering the national lab ecosystem, serving as the Director of Research and Development at CLASSE, the Cornell University Laboratory for Accelerator Sciences and Education. Bruce started his career at General Electric Healthcare, where he worked for 10 years on computed tomography systems.

    Bruce earned his Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Dr. Chris Anderson

    VICE PRESIDENT OF PHOTON SYSTEMS

    Chris Anderson is the Vice President of Photon Systems at xLight. Before joining the company, Chris spent 15 years in various roles at the Center for X-Ray Optics, Berkeley Lab. As a Staff Scientist at Berkley Lab, Chris developed nanolithography systems and user programs for EUV materials research. Specifically, he managed an industry-funded EUV lithography user program through 2X expansion and 15k materials tested, and developed and implemented current generation EUV lithography system enabling 10A node materials research.

    Prior to his work at Berkeley Lab, Chris spent five years as a Research Assistant at UC Berkeley where he performed original research, analysis, and computer modeling in EUV lithography. Chris started his career as a Research Assistant at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he performed original research in in non-linear optics.

    Chris earned his Bachelor of Science in Optical Engineering at the University of California, his Master of Science in Optical Engineering from the University of Arizona, and his Ph.D. in Applied Science and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Christopher Mayes

    DIRECTOR, FEL

    Christopher Mayes is the Director of FEL at xLight. Before assuming his role at xLight, Christopher spent six years as a staff scientist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Christopher started his career at the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education, where he served in various roles for 11 years.

    Christopher earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics with Honors from the College of William and Mary, and both his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University.

Advisory Board

  • Chris Miller

    Dr. Miller is associate professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, D.C.

  • Dr. Patrick Naulleau

    Dr. Patrick Naulleau is the CEO of EUV Tech. Dr. Naulleau has over 390 publications as well as 19 Patents and is a Fellow of OSA (now Optica) and SPIE.

  • Jacqueline Tame

    Jacqueline Tame is an Operating Partner at Playground Global and Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group.

  • Robert Maire

    Robert Maire is an advisor to technology companies and investors primarily in the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment industries. Robert brings to bear a unique combination of many years of experience and knowledge of the financial markets and a deep understanding of technology.

Technical Advisors

  • Brennan Peterson

    Brennan Peterson is Vice President of Test and Measurement at PsiQuantum Corp.

  • Harry J. Levinson

    Harry J. Levinson is currently an independent lithography consultant and Principal Lithographer at HJL Lithography. He is also currently an advisor for Silicon Catalyst. Levinson has spent most of his career working in the field of lithography, starting at AMD.

  • Sandra Gail Biedron

    Sandra G. Biedron is a Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM).

  • William A. Barletta

    William A. Barletta is a Professor of Physics at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been an Associate Laboratory Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Director of the US Particle Accelerator School.