From there Björn Manuel Hegelich brought that spark to the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, working with Professors K. Witte, J. Meyer-ter-Vehn and D. Habs. His PhD work focused on laser-driven particle acceleration, using for the first time a new generation of ultra-short pulse lasers based on chirped pulse amplification (CPA) invented by Nobel Prize winners Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou. CPA made it possible to achieve laser-particle acceleration to high energy.
Just as the microscope and personal computer allowed for foundational changes in human history, making high-energy particle accelerators compact and ubiquitous will bring another foundational change that will benefit humanity in unparalleled ways.
Our mission, and the main driving force behind this team, is to change the science and business worlds by leading to new discoveries that would have been previously difficult to achieve or outright impossible. With unprecedented access to this new tool, there is no limit to the progress that biologists, chemists, physicists, medical professionals, material scientists, aerospace engineers and energy engineers can make in their sectors and the new technologies, products and companies that can spring from it.
The minds behind TAU Systems have been working on this mission supported by founding investor Lukasz Gadowski, who shares the same vision: to change the world for the better through scientific progress.
Former Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester, Mike is an internationally known expert in inertial fusion, high-energy-density physics, high-power lasers and their applications, and advanced energy technologies. He has held leadership positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, General Atomics, Logos Technologies and Sandia National Laboratories.
Distinguished Professor, University of Texas at Austin. A leader in the development of laser-driven particle acceleration, Mike is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. Mike holds an MSc from Oxford University and a PhD from Harvard University.
CEO of TAU Systems, Björn Manuel Hegelich is also a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the pioneers of laser-driven particle accelerators. Many of the TAU Systems concepts are based on inventions made in his laboratory and his groups hold multiple world records in laser-particle acceleration. He has assembled a network of academic collaborators who help keep TAU Systems at the leading edge of science.
Established in January 2020, the Texas Innovation Center is the hub at The University of Texas at Austin for bringing engineering and science discoveries and technologies to the market.
With a track record of innovation, leadership and attainment of business results in nanoimprint lithography addressing its introduction and use in the semiconductor, hard disk drive and emerging market (bio, solar, LED, display) applications, Van has technical, operations and strategic leadership experience related to semiconductor equipment manufacturing and inkjet printhead R&D and product release.
An award-winning entrepreneur and skilled operator with 10+ years of experience in project management, investor relations, portfolio operations, media, fundraising, sales, event management, community engagement, strategic partnerships and curriculum creation, Ashley currently sits on the new venture and technology commercialization team at The University of Texas at Austin.