Our Team

We are a startup company working out of the BioVentures Center established by the University of Iowa

Firefly Photonics LLC is a startup company working out of the BioVentures Center in Coralville, established by the University of Iowa.

Michael Jones

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Mike Jones was employed by Rockwell Collins for 21 years, beginning as an engineer and most recently holding the title of Vice President & General Manager of Communications & Navigation Products, where he set strategic direction, captured new business, and executed development and production of contracts. During this time at Rockwell, Jones was awarded the Rockwell Engineer of the Year award, which indicates his excellence as an engineer, in addition to his exceptional executive leadership experience.

His professional experience in optics began when he was employed with Reveo, a startup which developed stereoscopic 3D displays in White Plains, NY. He also worked with Optical Instrument Systems, a startup based in Michigan.

Education

B.S. in Physics, Washburn University, KS

M.S. in Optical Engineering, University of Rochester, NY

M.B.A., University of Iowa

John P. Prineas

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

John P. Prineas studied light-matter coupling in semiconductor heterostructures with Hyatt Gibbs at Optical Science Center and with Jaghdeep Shah at Lucent Technologies. After completing research at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart as an Alexander von Humbolt Fellow, he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2001.

Currently, Prineas is a professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Additionally, he was the founder and the first Director of the Molecular Beam Epitaxy Facility at the University of Iowa.

Education

B.A. in Physics — Carleton College, Northfield, Minn.
Ph.D. in Physics — University of Arizona

Memberships

Optical Science and Technology Center
American Physical Society
Optical Society of America, Senior Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Senior Member
SPIE the International Society for Optics and Photonics

LATEST NEWS & RESEARCH

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    We offer custom products for your mid-infared light source needs, including LEDs and lasers.