Stephen D. Fantone, Ph.D.
Founder, Strategic Advisor, and Chair Emeritus
Dr. Stephen D. Fantone is the founder of Optikos, headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and now serves as Founder, Strategic Advisor, and Chair Emeritus. Dr. Fantone attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received bachelor’s degrees in both electrical engineering and management. In 1979 he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in Optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. He began his career with Polaroid Corporation and later went on to found Optikos.
As a recognized expert in optical engineering and optical product development, has served on numerous program review panels, Dr. Fantone has provided expert testimony on patent infringement and trade secret litigation cases, and has been awarded over 70 patents covering a broad range of optical technologies.
He is a Senior Lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT, and serves on the boards of the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, the Hertz Foundation and the Optica Foundation. Additional board service includes Rofin-Sinar Technologies, Inc. prior to its sale to Coherent, Inc. in November 2016; Zygo Corporation, prior to its sale to Ametek; and he served as chairman of Benthos, Inc., a supplier of oceanographic and package inspection instrumentation, from 1996 until its sale to Teledyne Technologies, Inc.
Dr. Fantone has been an Optica member for over 40 years and has served in several volunteer capacities, including Treasurer from 1996 to 2013; in 2007, he was awarded their Distinguished Service Award, and in October 2013, Optica honored Dr. Fantone by renaming that award the Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Fantone served as President of Optica in 2020. View a Hertz Foundation video of Dr. Fantone, who discusses his Hertz Foundation fellowship and its important influence on his career. On May 16, 2015, he received the University of Rochester Distinguished Scholar Award at the University’s 2015 Doctoral Ceremony. On February 9, 2022, Dr. Fantone was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
