EPIC is proud that Nicoletta Casanova is joining as new member to its board of directors. Femtoprint is a Swiss high-tech company that uses light as a powerful ink source to manufacture 3D printed microdevices in glass and other transparent materials. Benno Oderkerk, president of EPIC, said that “we are excited to welcome Nicoletta Casanova to the EPIC board of directors and look forward benefit from her energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit to the board.”

“It is a privilege for me to join the EPIC board of directors. The association has been experiencing impressive growth in recent years and has an even more ambitious vision for the future, which intrigued me,” said Casanova. “My story is studded with collaborations: Femtoprint is the result of a European collaborative project and is an example of how working together synergistically leads to success. I am therefore very happy to support EPIC's strategy and to contribute with my enthusiasm and passion for innovation in this very challenging historical moment. This nomination comes with the opening of our Femtoprint branch in Neuchâtel – completely dedicated to the development and production of photonic components, with the aim of strengthening the support for the European ecosystem.”

Nicoletta Casanova is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for innovation always trying to make things differently – from being technical director at a laboratory for material testing to young founder of a company active in the field of fiber optic technologies for structural health monitoring in Lugano, and afterward becoming manager of an international technology company in Paris. After her first successful experience, she decided in 2013 to give birth to Femtoprint, with the following main goals: open new technological horizons in industrial manufacturing and boost innovation in microsystems by providing means for rapid prototyping and serial production. Her passion for innovation is reflected in her additional activities as innovation counselor at the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse, as chair of the BRIDGE steering committee, and as leader of the group for innovation at the association of Ticino’s industries.

The EPIC board of directors composition as of April 2022: Adam Piotrowski, CEO of Vigo Photonics, Basil Garabet, president and CEO of NKT Photonics, Benno Oderkerk, Berthold Schmidt, managing director of Trumpf Photonic Components, Christian Bosshard, managing director of Swissphotonics, Nicoletta Casanova, CEO and president of Femtoprint and Samuel Bucourt, CEO of Imagine Optic.

Departing board member Jan Meise, CEO of AMS Technologies, stated: “I am especially happy, that after six years on the board of directors I was able to pass on the baton to Nicoletta Casanova, a terrific addition to the EPIC BoD team.”

Further reading: Alexander Steimle (FEMTOprint): 3D Micro-Printing: A new Era for Med-Tech Applications – How three-dimensional thinking is turning a piece of material into smart medical devices, Laser Tech. J. 15(1), January 2018, pp. 32–34; DOI: 10.1002/latj.201800003