MANAGEMENT TEAM
Sébastien Blais-Ouellette, Ph. D.
An Astrophysicist by training, Sébastien Blais-Ouellette is the President and Founder of Photon etc. While working in the Astronomy Department of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), he perfected a technology that uses volume Bragg gratings to combine images and spectra of a scene. “At Caltech I was working on the next generation of optical telescopes where you need state-of-the-art instruments. It became obvious that there were so many more fields where the same technology could have a strong impact.
Advised by experts in corporate development and high-tech management, Sébastien Blais-Ouellette directs Photon etc's on-going development and growth.
After obtaining a Master's degree in Montreal and Geneva, and his Ph.D at the Université de Montréal and the Université d'Aix-Marseille in France, he worked as a researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Caltech.
Sébastien Blais-Ouellette received the France-Québec Thesis Award for the best thesis in 2000 (all fields).
Denis Ricard
Denis Ricard is in charge of operations, finances and human resources. He is responsible for overseeing and enhancing the company’s internal organization, ensuring that Photon etc continues to grow and maintains its leadership position in optical instrumentation. As a key member of the executive committee, he contributes actively to the company’s strategic planning process.
Denis’s nearly 20 years of experience in high-tech operations has covered all aspects of the management of a company in this sector. After doing research at École Polytechnique de Montréal, he founded ITF Optical Technologies (now ITF Labs) and managed its phenomenal growth. After leaving ITF, he became deputy director of the Energy, Materials and Telecommunications Center of Québec’s Institut National de la recherche scientifique (INRS). He then became vice-president of FG2 Tech, then general manager of Genia Photonics.
Denis Ricard has a Bachelor’s degree in physics from the Université de Montréal and a Master's degree from École Polytechnique de Montreal.
Daniel Gagnon, Jr. Eng., M. Eng.
Daniel Gagnon is responsible for managing Photon etc’s project portfolio and production while supervising opto-mechanical engineering. He ensures the establishment and maintenance of best practices in project management and the efficient deployment of the Quality Management System. As President of the company’s Worker Shareholder Co-op, he also serves on the board of Photon etc. as a representative of the Co-op.
Daniel has over 13 years of experience in product development, technology transfer and design & analyses of opto-mechanical systems. Author of several publications, presentations and patents, he first worked as a research assistant at the Centre d’optique, photonique et laser and the Laboratoire de physique atomique et moléculaire at Université Laval. He then joined the team of ITF Optical Technologies as project leader. He was subsequently consultant in opto-mechanical engineering before joining Photon etc.
An École de technologie supérieure's graduate, he holds a BS in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in opto-mechanical engineering and innovation management.
Bernard-Alexandre Gaulin
The commercial development of the company is at the centerfold of his activities, leading him to represent Photon etc. in various trade shows and conferences. He is also is charge of our worldwide network of distributors. His implication in the company brought him to be nominated as vice-president of Photon etc's Worker Shareholder Co-op from 2009 to 2012.
Bernard-Alexandre Gaulin has followed an atypical and very diverse scholar path, going from physics to music and philosophy. He holds a bachelor degree in science from Université de Montréal where he also studied philosophy as a grad student. He later interrupted his performing arts studies in classical piano to join Photon etc's team during the summer 2008. His knowledge of many foreign languages such as French, German and Spanish facilitates his contact with our international clients.
Marc Verhaegen, Ph. D.
Marc Verhaegen is responsible for research and development and instrument production at Photon etc. He has over 15 years of experience in photonics R&D.
Marc Verhaegen obtained his Master's degree in optoelectronics from the Université de Liège in Belgium, and his Ph.D in Physics from the Université de Montréal. He is the author of many publications, and has presented extensively at conferences on the optical properties of silica-based materials. Marc completed his postdoctoral studies in the fibre-optics laboratory at École Polytechnique de Montréal, working specifically on the intensification of second order non-linear effects for fibre-optics and silica glass.
Marc Verhaegen is an expert in the manufacture of high-performance devices based on fibre Bragg gratings. He has worked as a researcher and a technical leader in the R&D departments of companies including ITF Optical Technologies and Corvis Canada.
Simon Lessard, Jr. Eng.
The great diversity of products offered by Photon etc.. requires a scalable and versatile design method to meet the sharp and changing needs of the market. In this context, the technical knowledge and experience in designing of Simon Lessard facilitate the transition of an idea to its complete and efficient completion, from design to certification of our instruments with normative regulators.
Holding a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the École de technologie supérieure, Simon Lessard began his career at Photon etc. in 2005 as a designer. Since 2009, his efforts have been in part devoted to develop a product line of infrared imaging. This system, unique and renowned for its performance, helped Photon etc. carve out an important place in the industrial sector of optical control. Its role as a technology leader brings to the company the necessary expertise for its technological renewa