EXECUTIVE TEAM

Dr. Lawandy is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Dr. Lawandy started his career at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where he was a pioneer in the development of sub-millimeter optically pumped lasers. From 1981 to 1999, Dr. Lawandy was a tenured full professor of Engineering and Physics at Brown University where his work focused on instabilities in single and multimode lasers and a wide spectrum of non-linear optics and atom-field interaction problems. In addition to Spectra Systems Corporation, he has founded two other companies, Spectra Disc Corporation and Solaris Nanosciences, and has raised over $80 million in investment capital.  

Dr. Lawandy holds a BA in Physics, and an MSc and Ph.D. in Chemistry, all from The Johns Hopkins University. He has authored over 180 reviewed scientific papers and is an inventor on over 80 US and foreign issued patents. His entrepreneurial and scientific work has been covered in several high profile publications including the London Financial Times, The Economist, Scientific American, Science News, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Fox News and BBC Television. He has also received a Presidential Young Investigator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Cottrell Award, a Rolex Award for Enterprise and a Samuel Slater Award for Innovation.

Dr. Goltsos has been Spectra’s Vice President, Engineering, from April 2000 to the present. From September 1996 to April 2000, he served as a Senior Systems Engineer for Spectra. Prior to that, from 1992 to 1996, Dr. Goltsos served as a Staff Member of the MIT/Lincoln Laboratory’s Optical Communications Group. Dr. Goltsos holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University (1987), an M.S. in Physics from Brown University (1983), and a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1981).

Rafael Marcinek, CPA, brings over 15 years of experience in accounting, auditing, and financial leadership across public and private sectors. He began his career in public accounting, managing large-scale assurance engagements for billion-dollar organizations. Over the years, Rafael has developed deep expertise in financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and internal controls, and has held senior finance leadership roles directing budgeting, forecasting, and operational improvement initiatives that enhanced financial performance and organizational efficiency.

Mr. Marcinek earned his CPA designation in New York State and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Dowling College.