Job Info
Employer:
Lightwave Laser Corp.
Position Type:
Research
Management
Product Development
Job skills:
Complex problem solving
Mathematical skills
Lab or instrumentation skills
Knowledge of physics principles
Data analysis
Communication
Team work
Laura Smoliar's Job:
Smoliar supervises a team of about fifteen physicists and engineers who develop laser technology. As a project manager, she oversees the group's progress, reports findings to the higher management of the company, and meets with clients to discuss project details. Her job also requires her to regularly fly and meet with her colleagues in Japan and Europe. The social aspect of her position is what she loves about her job. "I have an awesome team; they are very, very bright people."
Career Facts
Employer Type:
Industrial
Current Location:
CA
Physics Degree:
Bachelor
Educational Information
BS - Physics, Colombia University
Ph.D. - Physical Chemistry, University of California at Berkley
More about Laura Smoliar
Laura Smoliar's home page:
http://www.lwecorp.com/index.html
Direct link to Laura Smoliar's profile:
http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/people/smoliar.cfm
Biography:
Laura Smoliar was never a stranger to the worlds of physics; her mother was a physicist as well. "Sometimes I'd get to go to her lab, " Smoliar said. "It was a fun place. There were lots of toys." For her undergraduate studies, she attended Colombia University, and then moved on to the University of California at Berkley where she earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. She lived in Taiwan during the final year of her doctoral research and the year afterwards. She describes the experience as inspiring.
After moving back to the states she found work in Silicon Valley. She was attracted to fast paced, diverse lifestyle and plentiful job opportunities. In 2001 she was asked to join Lightwave electronics in her current position.
