ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Lightwave Logic, a company focused on the use of electro-optic polymers for optical communications applications, appointed John Zyskind vice president of engineering. He joins Lightwave from silicon photonics company Skorpios, where he served as vice president of engineering, quality, and reliability. He has held leadership positions at Bell Laboratories, Sycamore Networks, Optovia, and Mintera. PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech named Laurie Leshin director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president of Caltech. Leshin, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), will formally assume her position on May 16. Laurie Leshin. Courtesy of WPI. ANAHEIM, Calif. — Verisurf Software Inc., a developer and provider of 3D metrology software, appointed Nick Merrell executive vice president, effective immediately. Merrell will also continue to lead the technical support team. Nick Merrell. Courtesy of Verisurf Software. GLASGOW, Scotland — Vector Photonics appointed João Valente as process engineer. Valente most recently held research assistant roles at the University of Glasgow, James Watt Nanofabrication Center; University College London, Electronic and Electric Department; and the University of Southampton, Optoelectronics Research Centre. SAN JOSE, Calif. — Velodyne Lidar appointed Anurag Gupta executive vice president of engineering. Gupta previously served as senior vice president of engineering at Sense Photonics. He has held positions at View Inc., Google, Nest Sensors, HP, and Tamarack Scientific.