About MicroAdventure

MicroAdventure was founded to help in the commercialization of new technologies, leveraging its management’s broad expertise in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and optics innovation, design, process integration and system development. While this may be the century of the photon, corporate R&D budgets have been reduced and focus has shifted to faster-to-market software and human factors innovation. A great deal of specialized knowledge is being lost in the shift to offshore R&D and manufacturing. MicroAdventure is committed to helping corporations explore and develop new technology that utilizes MEMS, nanostructures, and advanced optical devices in innovative ways.

Dr. Marek W. Kowarz is President and Owner of MicroAdventure Technologies. For over fifteen years, he has been involved in R&D relating to the design, fabrication, and characterization of MEMS, microsystems, optical devices and related systems. Prior to founding MicroAdventure Tech, he was with the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC), College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), where he was Principal Scientist and a member of the STC Leadership Team. In this role, he led MEMS technology programs from design to customer delivery. He continues to support STC programs as Senior MEMS Technology Advisor.

Dr. Kowarz received his PhD degree in Optics from The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester in 1995 and dual undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. From 1995 to 2007, he was a Principal Scientist at the Research Laboratories of Eastman Kodak Company leading R&D efforts in MEMS, displays and optical data storage systems. He is a Kodak Distinguished Inventor and has over 60 issued patents covering MEMS device structures, fabrication processes, system architectures, and display systems. Dr. Kowarz is internationally recognized for his invention of GEMS (grating electromechanical system) technology, an innovative diffractive MEMS light modulator. He has also published over 20 papers in the areas of optical MEMS, optical storage, physical optics and electromagnetic theory.

Trail Blazer

Dr. Marek Kowarz, President

Micro ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS)
• Diffractive devices and GEMS
• Micro and nanostructures
• Optical devices
• System architectures

Invention & concept development
• Device physics, optics, electromechanics
• Design and modeling
• Mask layout
• Fabrication process integration
• Prototype development
• Interdisciplinary engineering
• Project and engineering team management