This Lab to Launch session by Dr, Katy Roodenko titled, “From Lab to Field: A Discussion on Customer Development” will highlight best practices in assessing the market and the importance of being flexible when developing new technology.

Dr. Katy Roodenko is the founder and CEO of Max-IR Labs. She has over 20 years of academic, industrial, and entrepreneurial experience related to the development of infrared technology for civil and defense applications. She received her MSc degree from Tel-Aviv University in 2004, where she worked on the development of Near-field Infrared Microscopy in the group of prof. Katzir. She obtained her Ph.D. degree from TU Berlin in Germany, developing novel infrared techniques and optical models for thin-film analysis. In 2008 she joined the group of prof. Yves Chabal at UT Dallas and continued to pursue her career in semiconductor materials and the development of infrared technologies for process monitoring and thin-film characterization. In 2012, she joined IntelliEpi to work on industrial production of III-V compound semiconductors for optoelectronic applications using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). In 2017, she leveraged her experience in the infrared methodology and analytical instrumentation and founded her own start-up, Max-IR Labs, focused on the development of leading-edge infrared technology and products. Team leader and business strategist, she drives disruptive technologies to markets.

“Lab to Launch” is the new seminar series for researchers interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. Anyone, not just researchers, interested in entrepreneurship are encouraged to watch. This series is sponsored by the Office of Research, in partnership with the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Blackstone Launchpad.