Cook to Helm AIM Photonics

William “Wade” Cook will serve as the executive director of AIM Photonics, the public-private partnership of industry and federal and state governments dedicated to advancing photonic integrated circuit manufacturing in the United States. AIM Photonics made the announcement Nov. 9.

Cook, a former past president of the Optical Society of America (Optica, formerly OSA) Rochester Section, has more than 20 years of experience in the optics and photonics industry, having served in roles ranging from engineer to manager to executive-level positions. Since 2017, he served as vice president of business development, then COO, and most recently as CTO and chief commercial officer at JML Optical Industries, a Rochester, N.Y.-based provider of optical solutions for the aerospace, defense, medical, life sciences, entertainment, imaging, and semiconductor industries.

William 'Wade' Cook. Courtesy of AIM Photonics.

Cook has also served as vice president for research and development at QVI (Quality Vision International), a Rochester company that provides optical, mechanical, electronic, and software technologies for vision and multisensor measuring systems. He serves on the board of directors for the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster. He is also an active member of Optica, as well as SPIE, the International Society of Optical Engineers.

In addition to his optics and photonics industry experience, Cook served more than 29 years in the U.S. Army. He served in both staff and command positions in the U.S., Italy, Iraq, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. As a reserve officer, Cook also served as a nuclear weapons effect analyst and senior counter-weapons of Mass destruction planner at Fort Belvoir, as well as a senior civil affairs planner at the Pentagon.

After completing his active Army service, Cook earned his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, studying holography and laser-based metrology in the research group of Nicholas George.