Acting Board Chair Stephen Fantone Elected to the National Academy of Engineering 
Stephen Fantone, A Hertz Fellow and Acting Chair and Vice President of the Board of Directors at the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Recognized by the NAE for his contributions to optical engineering and the development of optically based products and metrology systems, Fantone joins 111 newly elected members. This prestigious honor is among the highest professional distinctions awarded to engineers for their outstanding contributions to the field. He will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting on October 2.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized by the National Academy of Engineering. I’d like to acknowledge my invaluable team here at Optikos for their countless contributions and my family for the personal support that helped make this possible,” said Fantone.
Fantone is the founder and president of Optikos Corporation and a senior lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT. He has been awarded over 65 patents and is a recognized expert in optical engineering and optical product development. Stephen received his SB in electrical engineering and management from MIT and his PhD, which he received during his Hertz Fellowship, in optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester.
Through the generous contribution of the Elizabeth and Stephen Fantone Fellowship, Fantone also funded the Hertz Fellowship of recent graduate Christopher Panuski.