PhotoMachining Inc. of Pelham, N.H., announced it has hired laser scientist Dr. Francis Burns as its applications scientist, working with customers to develop laser-based manufacturing processes. Burns was previously employed with IBM in Endicott and Fishkill, N.Y., where he became one of the first people to drill the plastic polyimide with a laser, the company said. He has also worked for Hewlett-Packard and ESI and spent many years developing laser-based manufacturing technology for high-volume applications. Burns has a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and 12 patents in laser applications, surface science, failure analysis and vibrational spectroscopy. PhotoMachining supplies high-precision laser micromachining services and systems to the medical, aerospace, display, microelectronics and other industries.