Jessica DeGroote Nelson is the Director of Technology and Strategy at Optimax, a high precision optics manufacturer, located in Ontario, NY.
She joined the company in 2007 after graduating from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in Optics. She furthered her education with an Executive MBA degree from the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester.
During her time at Optimax, Jessica has been a scientist, researcher and leader, focusing on the spirit of innovation at the company. Jessica has not only expanded and improved the internal optical manufacturing processes, but has also received several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants funded by NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD), leading a team of researchers on these initiatives.
In addition to her roles at Optimax, Jessica has become an industry expert and speaker, and actively presents and collaborates with the Optical Society of America (OSA), Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), American Ceramic Society (ACerS), the American Society of Precision Engineers (ASPE), and the Optics and Electro Optics Standard Council (OEOSC). Optics education is a strong passion for Jessica, and she currently leads the educational outreach activities for OSA – Rochester Section and chairs the SPIE Education Committee. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester.