Lasers & Sources

Power Technology’s Walter Burgess appointed to Arkansas Governor’s science Board

March 24, 2020

Burgess was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Division of Science and Technology at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to improve photonics outreach

Gail Overton

Walter Burgess is vice president of sales and engineering at laser diode manufacturer Power Technology

Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas recently appointed Walter Burgess, VP of sales and engineering of Power Technology (Alexander, AR) to the Board of Directors for The Division of Science and Technology at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The board helps Arkansas startups and entrepreneurs create jobs by supporting their job-creating activities. Commercializing the technologies developed right here in Arkansas leads to a vibrant business culture in the state. The board also helps guide the state’s National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The EPSCoR program is designed to foster collaborative research efforts among the state’s higher education institutions, promote workforce development, and conduct educational outreach.

Power Technology is a manufacturer of OEM laser diode modules located in Alexander, AR that has been in business for more than 50 years and employs scores of high-tech workers in their manufacturing and engineering facility.

“It is an honor to be chosen by the governor to help guide the part of Arkansas’ economy driven by the technology sector in our state. Power Technology and other high tech companies play an important role in research, manufacturing, and job creation in the state,” said Burgess.

The appointment is for a two-year term expiring January 18, 2022.

Power Technology, Inc., established in 1969, manufactures lasers for OEM cinema, analytical, biomedical, industrial, semiconductor inspection, defense & security, and machine vision applications.

The Division of Science and Technology at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission is the driving force behind the commercialization of job-creating research. The primary objective of the division includes the development of the infrastructure to support the groundbreaking research conducted in Arkansas, which in turn leads the way to the successful launch of vibrant entrepreneurial and innovation companies. For more information about the commission, visit https://www.arkansasedc.com/science-technology/division.

SOURCE: Power Technology; https://www.powertechnology.com/news/

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.