SmallTech Team Profile

Shalini Venkatesh , Ph.D.

Dr. Shalini Venkatesh is an applied physicist (Ph.D. in Physics, University of Aston, England) with extensive experience in optics and photonics.

Dr. Venkatesh began her career in medical physics, working on brain scanning, mass spectrometry, neutron activation analysis, and lasers in ophthalmology. She entered the field of fiber optics first as a postdoctoral research fellow at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland, and then as a Lecturer at University College London, where she taught graduate and undergraduate classes and led a research group developing silicon micromachined fiber-optic sensors. She moved into industrial R&D at HP Labs, Agilent Labs, and Avago Technologies, working on reflectometry systems, optical sensors, waveguide devices, image sensor systems, and LEDs, taking some projects through the technology transfer process to manufacturing. For the last four years, she has specialized in IP-related work, particularly patent prosecution in the electrical arts.

Shalini has published 17 papers in refereed scientific journals, given over 30 presentations at national and international scientific conferences, and is an inventor on 15 issued US patents with 4 others pending. She has reviewed papers for optics and photonics journals, and reviewed grant proposals for the National Science Foundation. She is a senior member of the IEEE, a member of the IET, and a USPTO-registered Patent Agent.