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Speaker: Simon Poole
Date:
18 Feb 2013 (Monday)
Time:
10:00am - 11:00am
Venue: Executive
Seminar Room (S2.2-B2-53)
Nanyang Technological University
Map:
http://maps.ntu.edu.sg/maps#q:Block
S2.2
Abstract
Every company –
even the largest household names such as Google or Apple or even IBM - begins
life as a start-up. Drawing on experience gained from Dr. Poole’s extensive
start-up history, this presentation will look at how some of the companies
and research groups in which Dr. Poole has been involved got started, what
they did and how they subsequently developed and thrived. The presentation
aims to inspire researchers who are considering how to commercialize their
research to take the next steps and move out of the research lab and into the
brave new world of commercialization.
Dr.
Simon Poole is an engineer/entrepreneur with over 30 years experience in
photonics in research, academia and industry. He has been involved in
numerous successful start-ups in both Academia and industry and is renowned
for both his contribution to the technology of photonics as well as the
companies he has founded.
Author’s Biography
Dr. Simon Poole is an engineer/entrepreneur with over 30 years
experience in photonics in research, academia and industry. He obtained his
PhD from Southampton University in 1987 and was a member of the team that
invented the Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) in 1985. In 1988 he moved to
Australia and founded the Optical Fiber Technology Centre (OFTC) and
subsequently Australian Photonics Cooperative Research Centre (APCRC) at the
University of Sydney where he was director of the Sydney Node from 1991 to
1995. The APCRC grew to over 150 researchers and led to 15 start-ups which
raised a total of over $250m in Venture Capital funding.
In
1995, Dr. Poole led the first spin-off company from the APCRC, Indx Pty Ltd
which manufactured Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) for optical communications.
Indx was acquired by Uniphase Corporation (now JDS Uniphase) for $US6m and
subsequently grew to over 300 people with exports of over $100m pa. After
leaving JDSUniphase in late 2000 he worked as a venture partner with KPLJ
Ventures before co-founding Engana Pty Ltd in September 2001.
As
Engana’s CEO Dr. Poole raised $13m in VC funding and oversaw the development
and launch of Engana’s market-leading Dynamic Wavelength Processor line of
Wavelength Selective Switches in early 2005. The company, now Finisar
Australia, employs 280 people in Sydney and a similar number in China, with
annual sales of Wavelength Selective Switches of >$100m pa.
In
2008, Dr. Poole started a new group within Finisar, the New Business Ventures
Group, to generate new, high value added businesses using the principles of
Open Innovation. The first business within this group was the highly
successful WaveShaper range of Programmable Optical Processors which already
has sales of over $6m pa.
Dr. Poole is a Fellow of the IEEE in 2001 and is also a Fellow of the
Institute of Engineers Australia (FIEAust), a Senior Member of the Institute
of Engineering and Technology (SMIET) and a Chartered Engineer (CEng). He has
published over 150 refereed papers in journals and international conferences
as well as filing 7 patents, including the initial patent on the EDFA.
Jointly organized by
Optimus-Photonics Centre of Excellence
School of EEE, Nanyang Technological University
IEEE Photonics Society Singapore Chapter
IEEE Photonics Society Singapore Chapter Student Branch
Centre for Optical and Laser Engineering (COLE)
IEEE: Fostering technological
innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.
Website: www.ieee.org
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