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12 January 2026 / 15:00 - 17:00 CET
EPIC Online Technology Meeting on Photonics for Hyperscale Datacenters
Online Event








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EPIC Photonics for Hyperscale Datacenters is an online technology meeting dedicated to exploring the critical role of photonics in enabling next-generation datacenter infrastructure. As demand for bandwidth, energy efficiency, and low-latency data processing continues to grow, photonic technologies are emerging as essential components of hyperscale computing systems. This event brings together key players from the our industry to present and discuss the latest innovations in optical interconnects, co-packaged optics, photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and high-speed transceivers tailored for datacenter applications. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving technical requirements of hyperscale environments, the roadmap for scalable deployment of photonics in data networks, and the challenges that must be addressed – from integration and packaging to thermal management and cost. Join this meeting to exchange ideas, connect with industry leaders, and discover how photonics is shaping the future of cloud infrastructure, AI computing, and high-performance data transport.

Agenda

15:00 – 15:05 Opening by Ivan Nikitski, Photonics Technology Expert at EPIC

15:05 – 15:30 KEYNOTE: LumentumOptical Connectivity for Hyperscale AI: Why InP, CPO, and Optical Switching Converge – Christian Urricariet, Senior Director, Product and Strategic Marketing
15:30 – 15:45  QascadeRedefining AI Scaling: A New Paradigm of Photonic Interconnects – Bhavya Wadhwa, Co-founder
15:45 – 16:00 iPronics Reconfigurable Optical Networking for AI clusters – Ana Belen Gonzalez, VP Business Development
16:00 – 16:15 FocuslightRealizing High Datarates in Datacenters – More Than Just Optical Challenges – Wilfried Noell, Chief Scientist & BD
16:15 – 16:30 Chilas O-band Tunable Laser for Datacenters – Ian van den Vlekkert, Business Development Manager
16:30 – 16:45 VPIphotonicsA System-Level Approach to CPO/LPO PIC Design for Hyperscale Datacenters – Chris Maloney, Managing Director of US Operations
16:45 – 17:00 ENEKA PartnersCo-packaged optics: the next game changer? – Eneka Idiart-Barsoum, CEO

16:45 – 17:00 Closing by Ivan Nikitski, Photonics Technology Expert at EPIC

Speakers

Christian Urricariet is Senior Director of Product and Strategic Marketing at Lumentum, with over 25 years of experience introducing advanced optical connectivity solutions across the global communications industry

Senior Director, Product and Strategic Marketing at Lumentum

Bhavya Wadhwa has extensive experience as a systems engineer in electro-optic systems, having led deep-tech projects building advanced LiDAR systems, semiconductor technologies, and space systems. He is the Business Lead at Qascade.

Bhavya Wadhwa
Co-founder at Qascade

Dr. Ana González is currently VP of Business Development at iPRONICS. Formerly R&D Manager at EPIC, she has built a strong network within the photonics industry and has extensive experience engaging commercial partners and driving adoption of PIC technologies.

VP Business Development at iPronics

Dr. Wilfried Noell is Chief Scientist at Focuslight and part of the business development team, bringing deep expertise in datacom optics, silicon photonics, CPO, optical beam-shaping and microtechnology, with more than 25 years in the photonics industry.

Chief Scientist & BD at Focuslight

Ian started as a Test Engineer at Chilas four and a half years ago and since then he grew into a customer-facing role and now leads business development, connecting technology with market needs.

Business Development Manager at Chilas

Chris Maloney is the Director of BD and Managing Director of US Operations at VPIphotonics, specializing in simulation solutions for PICs and datacom/telecom systems. He holds an MS in MicroE Eng. from RIT and an MBA from Messiah University.

Managing Director of US Operations at VPIphotonics

Eneka Idiart-Barsoum (Founder & CEO) received her PhD on Lasers Physics in 1996, from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. She then worked 25 years in photonics industry, for Telecoms (Orange, Corning), Defence and Security (Airbus, Thales) and Automotive (Valeo) markets. She held different positions in R&D, Business Development and Collaborative Innovation. She was Valeo Group representative to Photonics 21 Board of Stakeholders, and led the Mobility WG to establish in 2018 within Photonics France the national Photonics roadmap. She then founded Eneka Consulting, based on her photonics, collaborative innovation and funding expertises.

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Attendees
  • Abhijeet Paul, Director at Qualcomm
  • Achim Weber , Product Manager at GMT Europe
  • Ahmad Atieh , VP Optical Systems at Optiwave Systems
  • Alan Gibbemeyer, Sales at Nokia
  • Ali Jaffal, Strategic Development Manager at Imec
  • Allan Lee, Director at MITS
  • Amir Sharghi , Product Manager at SUSS MicroTec
  • Ammar Riaz , Product Manager at TE CONNECTIVITY
  • Ana Belen Gonzalez , VP Business Development at iPronics
  • Andre Nauen , Systems Architecture at eleQtron
  • Andrew Robertson , CTO at Bay Photonics
  • Antonio Tartaglia , System manager at Ericsson
  • Azusa ADEWALE , Sales Manager at DOWA HD Europe
  • Badr Terjani , Supply Chain at Ibm
  • Bartosz Strek , Owner & Founder at Weefo
  • Bartu Yaman , Research Associate at Fraunhofer HHI
  • Benjamin Bernard , Team Lead Application at DISCO HI-TEC Europe
  • Bhavya Wadhwa, Co-founder at Qascade
  • Boris Eichhorn , Senior Manager New Venture at SCHOTT
  • Brian Weeks, Vice President at Reaves asset management
  • Brid Connolly , Business Development Manager at Tekscend Photomask
  • Charles Goeller , COO at ICON Photonics
  • Chris Maloney , Managing Director of US Operations at VPIphotonics
  • Christian Urricariet , Senior Director of Product Line Management, Cloud and Networking at Lumentum
  • Daoguang Li, Manager at Macnica
  • David Ettel , CEO at NANOTECHNA
  • David Lam, Senior Director, BD and Sales at Nokia
  • Deividas Andriukaitis , Senior Industrial Laser Sales Manager at Ekspla
  • Despoina Petousi, Advanced Engineer at Adtran
  • Dieter Bimberg, Prof. Excecutive Director at TU Berlin and CIOMP Changchun
  • Dimitris Karnakis , Senior Manager Technology at Oxford Lasers
  • Douglas Woolf, Cybersecurity Engineer at Dark Wolf
  • Eneka Idiart-Barsoum , CEO at Eneka Partners
  • Eric Mounier , Chief Analyst at YOLE INTELLIGENCE
  • Fabio Brandao , R&D Engineer Trainee at SMART Photonics
  • Fabrizio Mangano, Senior. Integration Engineer at Axetris
  • Felicia Li, PhD student at University of Colorado
  • Gabrie Hoogland , Chief Scientist at SABIC
  • Geoffrey Duggan , Product Sales Executive at Synopsys
  • Gerald Gerguri , Application Engineer at Axetris
  • Giacomo Losio, Field Application Engineer at Lumentum
  • Gijs Brienen , Sales/Marketing at Mintres
  • Gilda Mehrpoor , Solutions Manager at Huber+Suhner
  • Grant Baldwin , Head of Marketing at Oxford Instruments
  • Guillaume Basset , Group Leader Micro Nano Optics at CSEM
  • Guoliang Shang, Application Engineer at Axetris
  • Hakan Zadik , COO at Solinide Photonics
  • Hiroshi YAMAZAKI, PM at HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION
  • Hitesh Sahoo , Ceo at Phanofi
  • Homa Zarebidaki , Senior Photonic Components Coordinator at CSEM
  • Ian van den Vlekkert , Business Development Manager at Chilas
  • Idoia Haro , Open RAN Development Manager at Vodafone
  • Israel Petronius, Research and Development at Align
  • Iwan Davies , Group Technology Director at IQE
  • Iwan Kartawira, Network Specialist & Product Integration Manager at iPronics
  • Jean Teissier, Technology at Coherent
  • Jean-Francois Cormier , Scientific Advisor at INO
  • Jessica van Heck , Director at PHABULOuS Foundation
  • Jingyao Jiang, Intern at HUAXI SECURITIES
  • Joachim Krueger , Senior Director of Program Management at PsiQuantum
  • Joana Marques, Engineer at IEP - Instituto Electrotecnico Portugues
  • Joerg Nowack , Senior Strategist at Hitachi High-Tech
  • Joerg Smolenski , Business Development Manager at Nanoscribe
  • John Bowers, Professor at UCSB
  • John Disano , Technical Business Analyst at NRC
  • Josh Cheadle, Associate at Citadel
  • Josselin Petit , Technical Manager Optics, Photonics & Sensors at EDRMedeso
  • Kaname Hashida , Product Manager at DOWA ELECTRONICS
  • Kang Li, Senior Research Fellow at University of South Wales
  • Kant Deshpande, Product Marketing Manager at Molex
  • Karol Szelecky , Product Engineer at Foss Fibre Optics
  • kejia zheng, Senior hardware engineer at Bytelumio
  • Kevin Shortt , Research Project Leader at Airbus
  • Krishna Kumar , Technology Director at Avirata Defence Systems
  • Kwang Hong Lee, Director at Denselight Semiconductors
  • Larry Hsiao, Director at Hon Hai
  • Laura Horan , Product Management Lead at Vanguard Automation
  • Lee Crudgington, IEEE at IEEE
  • Makoto Iwai , Manager at NGK Europe
  • Makoto Nishimura , Sr. Manager, Marketing & Business Development at Nippon Electric Glass Europe
  • Marcello Bianchi , CTO at Optoplast
  • Marco Buhmann , R&D at Huber+Suhner
  • Mark Dinning , Business Development Manager at Jenoptik
  • Martin Fleischer, Vice President R&D at Huber Suhner
  • Martin Schell , Executive Director at Fraunhofer HHI
  • Maryvonne Chalony , Application engineer at Keysight
  • Masashi Nakamura, Principle Engineer at JX Advanced Metals Corporation
  • Matias Peluffo, Vice President at CommScope
  • Matteo Busi, Sales & Business Development Manager at XRnanotech
  • Melanie Leclerc, Optical Designer at INO
  • Miao Miao Mai, Research Assistant at HuaXi Security
  • Michael Enrico , Network Solutions Architect at HUBER+SUHNER Polatis
  • Michel Pastoor , Sales manager at NTS Optel
  • Mike Cox , Photonics Development at Bay Photonics
  • Mikhail Bukharin , Senior systems engineer at Scantinel
  • Milan Milosevic , Director R&I at PHIX
  • Ming Lu , Director at Hymson Laser
  • Myun-Sik Kim , Product Manager Micro-Optics & Services Business Development at Axetris
  • Nathan Tracy , Senior Principal Engineer at TE Connectivity
  • Nick Werstiuk , CEO at Quantum Valley Ideas Lab
  • Novica Mrdovic Vianello , CEO at StarTech
  • Oliver Kirsch , Team manager photonic packaging engineering at PHIX
  • Oliver Matyssek , Product Manager at DELO
  • Panagiotis Vergyris , Strategic Market Insights Manager at Theon Sensors
  • Paochieh Huang, Engineer at Polaris Electro-Optics
  • Phillip Dittmann , Managing Director at PHOTONICPARTS
  • Pierre-Yves Fonjallaz , Programme Manager EPFL and Delegate Swissphotonics at EPFL & Swissphotonics
  • Ping Chun Sung, Senior NPD director at Denselight Semiconductor
  • Qiong Tong , Business Development Manager at Merck Electronics
  • Raj Patel, Senior R&D Engineer at Xscape Photonics
  • Rayhane Ghane , Business Development Manager at ficonTEC
  • Renaud Requena , Senior Sales Manager, EMEA at Plasma-Therm
  • Rohit Kunjappa, Head of PM & AE at Huber Suhner Polatis
  • Rolando Ferrini , Chief Product Officer, BD Photonics at FEMTOprint
  • Rolf Eckert , Business Development Manager at CSEM
  • Ronald Habekothe , Director Sales EMEA+ at US Conec
  • Rong Zhu, Senior optical network engineer at ViaSat
  • Sagi Mathai, Principal Research Scientist at HPE
  • Sam Eah, Engineer at AIM Photonics
  • Sangzhi Zhao, R&D Manager at LEMON Photonics
  • Sanjay Gangadhara , Senior Program Director at Ansys, part of Synopsys
  • Santiago J. Cartamil Bueno , Managing Director at SCALE Nanotech
  • Sawyer Ge , Director, Sales and Marketing at Optiwave Systems
  • Sebastian Caballer Ruiz , Open RAN Engineer at Vodafone
  • Sebastian Gryska, Business Development Manager at Yokogawa
  • Shawn Chang , Product Marketing Director at LiVe Optronics
  • Sheng Ding, Account Executive at Marvell
  • Simon Kibben , CTO at Photonics Foundry
  • Simon Kocur, Vice President at Santec
  • Simon Schwarz, Senior Expert Optics at Heraeus Covantics
  • Simone Lavizzari , Investment Manager at Join Capital
  • Sohrab Sangini , Application Engineer at VPIphotonics
  • Songtao Liu , Researcher at Intel
  • Stefano Binetti, Distinguish engineer at Cisco
  • Stephan Lutgen , General Manager at III-V Consulting
  • Stephane Mariojouls, photonic expert at airbus
  • Steve Kidd , Global Sales & Business Development at Arden Photonics
  • Steven Dang, sales engineer at chroma ATE
  • Stijn Cuyvers , Technical Sales & Project Manager at LIGENTEC
  • Suleyman Turgut , Innovations and Partnerships Director at Moveon Technologies
  • Surajit Bose , Senior Application Engineer at VPIphotonics
  • Takenori Kumagai , Tech Scout Senior Manager Germany Office at JX Advanced Metals Corporation
  • Tao Peng , Marketing Manager at Focuslight
  • Tat Khit Chan, Senior Director Operations and Supply Chain at Denselight Semiconductor
  • Thanavorn Poempool, Project manager at Besi
  • Thomas Hommes, Head of Strategy at PHIX
  • Thomas Newhart , District Manager at EXFO
  • Thomas Schmalzigaug , Standardisation Manager at HUBER+SUHNER
  • Timo Aalto , Research Team Leader at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
  • Tom Mitcheltree , Business Development Manager at US Conec
  • Tomas Backlund , Project Lead at Merck
  • Victoria McDonald, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing at Lumentum
  • Vvipul Patel , Principal Engineer at Cisco Systems
  • Wayne Mcmillan , MD at applied materials
  • Wilfried Noell , Chief Scientist & BD at Focuslight
  • Wridheeman Bhattacharya , PhD Student at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
  • Xiaomeng Sun , Principal Application Engineer at Axetris
  • Xiaoqi Cui, Integrated Photonics Scientist at Cycle
  • Yeeloy Lam , President/CTO at DenseLight Semiconductors
  • Yong Liang , Experienced Technology Manager at ZEISS
Contact Information
Technology Manager
Technology scope and agenda
Ivan Nikitski, PhD
Ivan Nikitski, PhD
Technology Expert for Quantum and Integrated Photonics
Event Manager
Logistics, venue, accommodation, and transportation
Vera Koniukhova
Vera Koniukhova
Events Manager
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