Jane Rigby Named Webb Telescope Senior Scientist: People in the News: 07/05/23

NASA named Jane Rigby as the new senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope mission. Rigby is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Rigby was one of the three commissioning scientists for Webb. She also led the characterization of Webb’s science performance. She is an active researcher studying how galaxies form stars, and she leads one of Webb’s Early Release Science programs. She steps in after John Mather, who held the position for almost 28 years. Mather is moving on to senior project scientist emeritus for Webb at NASA.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Optical networking technology company Infinera added Scotty Benda as senior vice president of worldwide systems engineering. Benda previously held senior technical leadership roles with LightRiver Technologies, Ciena, Nokia, and Nortel. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University.

LAKE MARY, Fla. — FARO Technologies, a developer of 3D metrology, appointed Peter Lau as president and CEO, and as a member of the company’s board of directors, effective July 24. Yuval Wasserman, who has served as interim CEO, will continue as the company’s executive chairman. Lau recently served as CEO and board member of Catalyst Nutraceuticals. Previously, he held several senior executive positions including president and CEO of divisions within Hubbell, Honeywell, and General Electric.

SUGAR LAND, Texas — Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (AOI) added Michael Ballard as senior director of marketing in broadband access. Before joining AOI, Ballard led marketing teams at companies such as Cisco Systems, Lenovo, and NEC. Applied Optoelectronics is a developer and manufacturer of optical technologies including components, modules, and equipment.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Laser Photonics Corp., a developer of CleanTech laser systems for laser cleaning and other material applications, hired Scott Smiley as its technical sales representative. Smiley graduated from Sacred Heart University with a bachelor’s degree in business. Smiley served as a U.S. Marine Corps logistics officer, where he experienced multiple combat and peacetime deployments throughout the Middle East and Pacific regions. Following active duty, Smiley joined the Marine Corps Forces Reserve while pursuing his graduate degree in business administration at the University of Florida.