Please note, preferably register only one person per company for best possible networking.
This EPIC Technology Meeting on Photonics for Space will delve into the latest advancements and challenges in applying photonics technology to space and new space, in harsh environments. Sessions will cover topics from the lastest development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for space, emerging trends and challenges in the new space, photonics for harsh environments, and the role and challenges of photonics in earth observation for environmental monitoring. Hosted by Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, in Granada, Spain, it offers a unique opportunity for insightful discussions on the role of photonics in space within an environment rich in observatory, astrophysics, and space end-user expertise. The event aims to bring together industry experts to share insights, explore research and development opportunities, and facilitate efficient networking among participants.
Antxon Alberdi (Research Professor) is a physicist and former Director of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), a position he held for over eight years until September 2025. After earning his Ph.D. in radio astronomy at the University of Zaragoza in 1991 and working at the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, he joined LAEFF-INTA in 1995 and the IAA in 1997. His research focuses on high-resolution radio astronomy, black holes, and galaxies. He is involved in major international projects such as SKA and the European VLBI Network and was named a Corresponding Academician of the Real Academia de Ciencias in 2025.
Miguel Abril (Head of the Instrumentation and Technological Development Unit) is an electronic engineer with a bachelor’s and doctorate in Physics. He is a tenured technician at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, in Granada, where he makes gadgets to look at the stars. He had previously spent four years surrounded by geophysicists who wanted to study earthquakes and volcanoes, a strange hobby which gave him the opportunity to visit fascinating places like Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius, Mount Stromboli, Antarctica…
Eduardo Margallo (CEO) possesses over ten years of expertise in founding and managing photonics technology firms. As a co-founder and former CEO and COO of MedLumics S.L., he adeptly steered the company through two venture capital funding rounds (€3.5M and €34M), launched a class II medical device, and commenced human trials for an image-guided catheter. Since 2020, Dr. Margallo has led Ommatidia LiDAR, introducing two innovative Laser RADAR products and a series of FMCW sensor modules. He holds M.Sc. degrees in Telecommunication Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Electrical Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, and Physics from UNED. Additionally, he earned a Ph.D. in Photonics from Delft University of Technology and an MBA from IE Business School and Brown University.
Alexander Telle (CEO) joined Acktar/ACM in 2015 and took responsibility for the business development in the European market, especially for industrial photonic customers and aerospace business. He had previously held director and senior management positions in several photonics companies. He started his career in 2005 as an R&D engineer at JENOPTIK. Alexander holds an engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing. (FH)) from Ernst-Abbe-University Jena.
Stefan Hambuecker (Managing Director) is the Managing Director of INGENERIC. After earning his degree in mechanical engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 1996, he started his career as a Research Assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology in Aachen, where he also completed his doctorate in 2001. Shortly afterwards, INGENERIC was established as a spin-off from Fraunhofer IPT, with Stefan taking on the responsibilities of Managing Partner. His extensive technical expertise and many years of industry experience are key drivers of INGENERIC's innovations in optical solutions.
Tejo Robbiani (R&D Engineer) is a Mechanical Engineer currently working as Project Manager in the R&D team at Diamond SA, a position he has held since 2022. Since 2023, in his role as Chief Inspector Officer ESCC, he has been responsible at company level for coordinating all activities related to the maintenance of standards defined under the ESCC3420 framework and for ensuring direct liaison with the European Space Agency. His professional background combines technical expertise with project leadership in the field of fiber-optic interconnects for different market application including space applications, with a strong focus on process reliability, quality assurance, and the development of innovative solutions for advanced optical harnesses.
Guillaume Dovillaire (Technical Manager) has been with Imagine Optic since 1997, where he has played a key role in driving technical innovation and development. He began his career as an Engineer at CILAS before joining Imagine Optic, bringing strong expertise in optical engineering and wavefront sensing technologies.
Davide Frigerio (EMEA Business Developer) graduated in Materials Science at the University of Milano-Bicocca. He worked for several years in R&D/product development in the field of smart materials and special alloys, taking part in many innovation projects and filing several patents. He joined SAES Group in 2015 as a Product Development Engineer of Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy components. Since 2022, he manages the new business opportunities for Getter components and device packaging in various market segments including Defense, Medical, Electronics and Renewable Energy.
Matthias Beier (CEO & Co-Founder) graduated from Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena in 2017 with a PhD in Optical Engineering, working on the development and fabrication of optical imaging systems based on metallic mirrors. After working as a research scientist at Zeiss SMT on EUV Optics Manufacturing in 2017 and leading a research group at Fraunhofer IOF for ultra-precise fabrication and metrology processes for high-quality metal optical systems for space and astronomy from 2018 to 2020, he co-founded SPACEOPTIX GmbH as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer institute in 2020 and is currently leading the company as CEO. His interests include optical manufacturing and testing technologies as well as system engineering aspects, with a special interest in freeform optical systems. He was and is currently involved in the development and realization of numerous optical systems for commercial and scientific space applications and terrestrial telescopes.
Frank Lison (CEO & Co-Founder) graduated in 1994 from Leibniz University in Hannover and earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Bonn. Frank began his career at Bayer AG and transferred in 2002 to TOPTICA Photonics AG as VP of Research & Development. In 2009, he became CEO of TILL Photonics GmbH. When TILL Photonics was acquired by FEI Inc. in 2011, he stayed on as the managing director of FEI Munich GmbH. He was responsible for the worldwide cell and tissue biology division at FEI until he left in early 2014. Since then, he has worked as an independent consultant in the Photonics industry, mainly focusing on start-ups. Since October 2016, he has been the CEO of TOPTICA Projects.
Xana Delpueyo (Optical Engineer) holds a degree in Optics and Optometry, a Master's degree in Vision Sciences, and a PhD in Optical Engineering, all from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). She has extensive experience in absorbance, reflectance, fluorescence, and multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, applied to diverse fields, such as biomedicine, chemistry, cultural heritage in palaeontology, and museum artworks. She currently works as an optical engineer at IACTEC-Space, within the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), where she plays a key role in the design and testing of space instrumentation, such as the DRAGO cameras for Earth observation and the IACSAT-Dune telescope for the confirmation of Earth-like exoplanets.
Eugen Bärwald (Business Development Europe) has a mechanical engineering background. He has worked for over a decade in the high precision bearing applications and mechatronic systems. Eugen has been working at MPS Microsystems since November 2020 and is responsible for the business development in Europe. He is curious about optical technologies and enjoys looking for new applications where MPS can provide added value to the industry like precise miniaturized zoom mechanism or fibre positioning x-y stages.
William Renard (International Sales Engineer) graduated from Ecole Supérieure d’Optique (Institut d’Optique Graduate School) in 2009 in Optical and Laser Engineering and then received his PhD in 2012 from Ecole Polytechnique in the field of Fiber Lasers. William spent about 15 years in Laser field in various positions from research engineer at ONERA (The French Aerospace Lab.) to research and development Engineer and Manager in industry. William is within HORIBA France since 2022, and thanks to his specific interest in customer relationship and background in business development and innovation, he is developing the business of Custom Gratings for HORIBA.
Ugo Drieux (COO) received a Master’s degree in Applied Physics from the Denis Diderot Engineering School of the University of Paris in 2019. He is now part of OptoSigma’s team responsible for customer relationships and custom project handling. He is also a master’s intermittent professor at the University of Paris for Business and corporate integration.
Dmitry Tabakaev (Senior Scientist) is a Senior Scientist at the Photonic Systems Research Unit, Silicon Austria Labs GmbH. He co-leads the Laser applications ecosystem and is responsible for both business and research development in the fields of high-power compact lasers, high-energy laser fiber beam delivery, laser sensing and their application in the space, defense, and semiconductor industries. Dmitry did his PhD and Postdoc in the field of Quantum nonlinear optics in the University of Geneva.
Juan Barbero (Optoelectronic Lab Product Responsible) has more than 30 years of experience in failure analysis and reliability testing of optoelectronic devices mainly for space applications. Juan holds a degree in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid. He has been involved in the innovation department of ALTER for more than 20 years leading the developments of optoelectronic innovative testing methods for high reliability tests for space environment. The ALTER optoelectronic lab, and Juan as part of it, is always looking for collaborations on innovation projects related to optoelectronics.
Martin Roth (Scientist) served as Research Assistant at Universitäts-Sternwarte München from 1986 to 1991. He then became an Observer at Wendelstein Observatory in 1991 before joining AIP in 1994, where he worked as Head of Program until 2023. At AIP, he was instrumental in developing integral field spectrographs like PMAS, VIRUS, and MUSE, and contributed to projects such as MOSAIC and BlueMUSE. Since 2009, Martin has been the Chair of innoFSPEC Potsdam. He was a Professor at the Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam from 2011 until April 2023. Since his retirement from teaching, he continues to work full-time in the Astrophotonics department, focusing on advanced research and development in the field.
Pablo Rodríguez (Optical Systems R&D Engineer) holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Its academic research focused on ocular aberrations and scattering measurement techniques (Spanish National Research Council, 2002-2007) and later on algorithm development for detection of ocular pathologies. This was followed by a career on the space sector currently reaching more than 15 years of experience. He participated in several space instrumentation projects as an optical engineer at SENER (2007-2013). On 2015 he joined the Raman spectroscopy team at the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), and since then he has been leading the development of the laser units within this area.
Ravi Kiran Saripalli (Senior Researcher and Lead of Light Communication Division) is a Lead Researcher at the Directed Energy Research Center (DERC) within the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in the UAE. He drives forward projects in Free Space Optical Communications, Optical sensing and detection, and the development of a research platform exploring light-matter interaction and nonlinear frequency conversion. Additionally, he plays a crucial role in managing various business partnerships for DERC, contributing to the center's mission of innovation and collaboration. With expertise in light processing, structured light, nonlinear optics, and ultrafast optics, he has authored over 20 impactful scientific papers, garnering attention through news releases and Editor’s picks. Dr. Saripalli has led successful research endeavors supported by prestigious institutions like DARPA, US DOE, and ISRO, while also securing multiple grants and receiving recognition through presentation awards.
Michael Gensch (Professor & Head of Department) holds since 2019 the professorship for “Terahertz and Laser Spectroscopy” at Technische Universität Berlin. At the same time, he is appointed Head of Department for “Terahertz and Laser Spectroscopy” at the DLR Institute of Space Research in Berlin. He studied physics at the University of Manchester and the TU Berlin before moving to the ISAS – Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences for his doctorate. After postdoc and staff scientist positions at the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg and at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) where he worked on the development of novel spectroscopic instrumentation, he became group leader and project manager for the development and subsequently the scientific program of the TELBE THz user facility at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).
Emmanuel Leclerc (Technical Sales Engineer) is an Optronics engineer from Paris-Saclay University, has held several different positions, giving him extensive experience in photonics. As project manager at Quantel, he was involved in the development of monolithic and compact solid-state lasers for scientific and laser cleaning applications. Then he was export manager for the Asia-Pacific area. Then he occupied different sales positions at CVI Laser Optics and Videojet. He joined SEDI-ATI as a Technical Sales Engineer to take in charge sales in Eastern and Southern Europe.
Benoit Rat (Director of Special Projects) graduated as "communication systems" engineer from EPFL, he started collaborating in 2010 on the development of the White Rabbit Switch. He has since continued bringing sub-nanosecond synchronization to a wide range of devices in time-critical infrastructures. In his current role as director of the Special Projects Unit, he oversees the implementation of innovative PNT solutions within emerging markets.
