Steven P. DenBaars has served on the board of Biond Photonics (now Aeluma) since June 5, 2021, and is a director of the company. He is a Distinguished Professor of Materials and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (1991-present) and has helped co-found several photonics and electronics startups, including Nitres Inc. (acquired by Cree Inc. in 2000) and SLD Laser (acquired by Kyocera Corporation in 2021), and assisted in the founding of Akoustis Technologies. He is an IEEE Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors, and an Optica Fellow, and has authored or co-authored over 1,200 technical publications and more than 193 patents. He holds a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Arizona and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California.