Katy Roodenko, PH.D.

Dr. Katy Roodenko is a physicist committed to leveraging technology for sustainable solutions that benefit both industries and the environment. As the founder and CEO of Max-IR Labs, she is interested in the data-enabled automation of complex processes that enhance resource optimization and energy efficiency. Her focus is on commercializing analytical instruments that address critical societal and environmental issues, such as the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of carbon emission reductions, tracking nitrogen-based compounds and nutrients, and providing essential data for informed decisions in water and wastewater treatment. Recognizing the challenges in standardizing environmental analytical tools, Dr. Roodenko is involved in ASTM, serving on Committee D-19, focused on developing standard methods for sampling and analysis of fluids.

Before founding Max-IR Labs, Dr. Roodenko worked in the semiconductor industry. She specialized in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) manufacturing of wafer components for infrared devices such as focal plane arrays (FPAs) and quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). Dr. Roodenko holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Technical University in Berlin, Germany, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from Tel-Aviv University in Israel. She conducted her post-doctorate research at the University of Texas in Dallas under the mentorship of Prof. Yves Chabal. With a strong commitment to applying photonics in environmental and health sectors, she co-chairs the SPIE Photonics West conference segment, “Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Diagnostics, Treatment, and Environmental Applications.”