Topanga Technologies, a manufacturer of solid-state plasma lighting, recently announced the appointment of Richard Craig as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Craig is a leader in the photonics and semiconductor field with a track record of building value in technology-based companies. With 25 years of experience developing photonic innovations as a scientist and engineer, and manager, Dr. Craig is known for bringing new technologies to market.
Dr. Craig joins Topanga from Santa Clara University and San Jose State University, where he was teaching physics. Previously, he was the CEO of Kaai, Inc., and COO of Soraa, Inc., both Gallium Nitride based start-ups founded by Shuji Nakamura and funded by Khosla Ventures. He previously served as CEO of Santur Inc., and has held various engineering and management positions at Hughes Research Labs, SDL, Inc. and JDSU. Dr. Craig has a PhD in Quantum Electronics from UCLA. Dr. Craig assumes his role as CEO immediately and will also serve as a Topanga Technologies board member.