Jessica DeGroote Nelson is Director of Technology & Strategy at Optimax Systems, working with a large team to build future product and technology roadmaps through a continuous strategic planning process. She joined the company in 2007 to help build their R&D department fueled by several SBIRs focused on conformal and freeform optics. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, teaching both graduate and undergraduate classes on optical materials, fabrication, and testing. Dr. DeGroot Nelson is active in several local and national optics societies, and serves as co-chair of OSA’s Optical Fabrication and Testing, OSA’s Freeform, and SPIE’s Optifab events. She has a BS, MS, and PhD in optics from the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, and an executive MBA degree from the Simon School at the University of Rochester.