PPC Management Team
Nicholas G. Traggis, Vice President and General Manager
Mr. Traggis is currently serving as the General Manager of Precision Photonics, and has previously held various engineering and management positions for the design, development, and commercial production of photonic and optical component products. His accomplishments include developing and bringing to production several adhesive-free optical contacting technologies for micro-optics fabrication, and leading the transition of several photonics products from prototype research stages into commercial production. Nick holds a degree in materials engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Emily Kubacki, Director of Sales and Marketing
Ms. Kubacki joined PPC in 2007 and is responsible for the company's worldwide sales and marketing efforts. After receiving an optical engineering degree from the University of Rochester, Emily spent several years involved in optics manufacturing, including the fabrication and metrology for NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope mirrors. She has over 20 years of combined experience in the engineering, sales and marketing of optical components and has published numerous articles in industry magazines such as Photonics Spectra, Laser Focus World and Photonik.
Ruth McCurry, Controller
Ms. McCurry came to PPC from Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies and brings over 15 years of experience as a controller and chief accountant in various high-technology, research and manufacturing environments. Her experience includes accounting system implementations and conversions, SBIR government contracting, acquisitions and due diligence. Ruth earned a Bachelor's degree with a major in Accounting from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Brandon Ballagh, Quality Engineering Manager
Mr. Ballagh holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management from Montana State University and the University of Colorado. His technical experience includes manufacturing engineering, process development and process control in a variety of industries including electronics, thin film systems and medical devices. Brandon joined PPC in 2006 and is currently the Quality and Engineering Manager, in charge of quality assurance, process improvements and project engineering of custom optics.
Dr. Jennifer Anton, Coating Department Manager
Dr. Anton earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science from the Colorado School of Mines in 2005 at which time she was awarded a Postdoctoral Research Associateship by the National Research Council. Jennifer has over 10 years of experience working with thin film coating materials and processes, specializing in materials characterization and metrology. She is directly responsible for all production and process control within our Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) coating facility.
Maria Nash, Logistics Manager
Ms. Nash came to PPC in 2010 with a Chemical Engineering degree from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and 20 years of combined experience including management, logistics, quality engineering and marketing. She joined the PPC team to further advance our Procurement & Planning departments and to optimize the use of our ERP system. She is PMP® re-certified since 2005.