J. Richard Kerr, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, VP, Founder

At the time of Max-Viz, Inc.’s formation, Dr. Kerr directed the Northwest Office of the Center for Aerospace Technology, Research Triangle Institute. At RTI he managed a $4 million NASA program in Enhanced Vision Systems, involving new concepts that were carried over to Max-Viz. Prior to RTI, Dr. Kerr was Vice President of Engineering/Advanced Development at FLIR Systems, Inc., as part of the management team that took the company from $1.8 million to nearly $200 million in annual revenue while establishing FLIR as the world’s largest independent infrared firm. Before joining FLIR, he was Vice President of Marketing at startup Flight Dynamics, Inc., where he played the key role in repeated rounds of financing that took it to a mature company. FDI was subsequently acquired by Rockwell Collins, Inc. and today is the world’s leading supplier of commercial head-up displays. Earlier, he pursued academic interests as Professor, Executive VP and then President/CEO of the Oregon Graduate Institute, which he personally lead to accreditation as a unique, stand-alone postgraduate school of science and engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, which he pursued under a National Science Foundation Fellowship. His fields of interest include infrared, laser, and electro-optical systems.