Notable Alumni
Alexei Erchak '97

In a nutshell, what’s the nature of your work?
When you hear “LED,” you usually think of a dim light source that lights up your cell phone, or an indicator in the dashboard of your car. Luminus Devices manufactures a much different and brighter kind of LED, based on a technology called photonic lattices that I developed during my doctoral work at MIT. Our products, called PhlatLight, are being used to illuminate Samsung’s big-screen DLP TVs as well as LCD TVs and portable projectors that can be connected to your iPod. And we are now exploring using PhlatLight for general lighting.

What have been some defining moments of your career?
The first measurements of prototype LEDs I built at MIT using photonic lattices that showed higher brightness. After four years of work, it was incredibly rewarding to see that pay off. Also, the decision to start Luminus. After completing my PhD I had a choice between taking a great job offer and starting a company. Starting Luminus was very risky; but it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience, not to mention a hell of a lot of fun.

What developments in your field will have the greatest impact on the careers of students in the sciences?
Materials science is constantly evolving with the discovery of new materials, like biodegradable plastics. And with computer-simulation processing speeds increasing exponentially, the rate of discovery is faster than ever. Today’s materials scientists must be theoreticians and experimentalists simultaneously to understand both the physics and the applications of new materials.

What advice would you offer Skidmore students in the sciences?
You actually have an advantage going to a school like Skidmore instead of a traditional engineering school. You learn to examine problems from all perspectives and to be creative—invaluable assets that many science students never obtain.

 

Alexei was a math and physics major at Skidmore College.  He is the founder and chief technology officer of Luminus Devices Inc., the maker of PhlatLight light-emitting diodes, located in Billerica, Massachusetts.  This profile originally appeared in Scope Quarterly Winter 2008.