The laser-focused society in the photonics community

This is the third in a series of interviews with leaders of our professional societies to give us a better understanding of the ecosystem of our industry. Peter Baker is the executive director of the LIA, the Laser Institute of America. He is an honors physics graduate of London University and worked for the U.K. Government Space and Guided Weapons department designing star tracking control systems before joining Itek in Lexington, MA, as a senior physicist. He designed his first laser in 1970 at Micronetic Systems, where he rose to senior VP. After teaching physics and math in Nairobi, Kenya, he returned to the U.S. to join Quantrad and was promoted to president/CEO. He joined LIA as executive director in 1988. Peter is a past president of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives and a past president, life member, and Fellow of LIA.