Topanga Technologies Appoints Richard Craig as Chief Executive Officer
Electro-optics industry innovator will lead market adoption of Advanced Plasma Lighting™
Los Angeles, CA – August 17, 2011 – Topanga Technologies, a leading manufacturer of energy-efficient solid-state plasma lighting, today announced the appointment of Richard Craig as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Craig is a leader in the photonics and semiconductor field with a track record of building value in technology-based companies. With 25 years of experience developing photonic innovations as a scientist and engineer, and manager, Dr. Craig is known for bringing new technologies to market.
“Rich brings a deep engineering background to Topanga, which combined with his experience commercializing emerging technologies will help establish a streamlined mass manufacturing process that will strengthen the market adoption of Advanced Plasma Lighting,” said Mehran Matloubian, Topanga’s Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer.
Dr. Craig joins Topanga from Santa Clara University and San Jose State University where he was teaching physics. Previously he was the CEO of Kaai, Inc., and COO of Soraa, Inc., both Gallium Nitride based start-ups founded by Shuji Nakamura and funded by Khosla Ventures. He previously served as CEO of Santur Inc., and has held various engineering and management positions at Hughes Research Labs, SDL, Inc. and JDSU. Dr. Craig has a PhD in Quantum Electronics from UCLA. Dr. Craig assumes his role as CEO immediately and will also serve as a Topanga Technologies board member.
About Topanga Technologies
For industrial and commercial lighting, Topanga Technologies is a leading innovator of solid-state drivers and electrode-free plasma lamps, providing energy efficient, economical and reliable lighting solutions that surpass both traditional and new technology platforms. Founded in 2005, Topanga Technologies has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Los Angeles and San Jose, CA. For more information, visit www.topangatech.com.
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