Laura A. Smoliar

Seagate Technology Plc engages in the development, production, and distribution of data storage products and electronic data storage solutions. Its products include hard disk drives, solid state hybrid drives, solid state drives, peripheral component interconnect express cards, serial advanced technology attachment controllers, storage subsystems and computing solutions. The firm offers its products under the Backup Plus and Expansion product lines, and Maxtor and LaCie brands. The company was founded by Finis Conner, Syed Iftikar, Doug Mahon, David Thomas Mitchell, and Alan F. Shugart in 1978 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Silicon Light Machines Corp. develops and markets optical technology and products for fiber-optic communications networks. The firm's grating light valve technology is a spatial light modulator on the surface of a silicon chip that is used in optical components, print, and display-related products. Its products serve various applications including digital display, computer-to-print systems, maskless lithography, and telecommunications. The company was founded in 1994 and is located in San Jose, CA.

Mobius Photonics, Inc. manufactures fiber lasers systems for precision engineering applications. It offers fiber-based laser sources for applications ranging from material processing for solar cell manufacturing, semiconductor fabrication and assembly, and flat panel display manufacturing, to scientific uses such as super-resolution microscopy. The company was founded by Laura A. Smoliar, Robert L. Byer, and Red Byer in 2005 and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA.

Part of Lumentum Holdings, Inc., Lightwave Electronics Corp. is a private company that provides solid-state lasers for commercial markets. The company is based in Mountain View, CA. Lightwave Electronics was acquired by Viavi Solutions, Inc. on April 29, 2005 for $65 million.

Signal Lake Management LLC (Signal Lake) is a venture capital firm founded in 1998 by Michael Weingarten. The firm is headquartered in Westport, Connecticut.

Astia, Inc. provides executive programs that support funding and leadership for women founders and C-level executives in high-tech, life sciences, and clean technology start-ups. The company was founded by Cate Muther in 1999 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.