2018 Ambassador Dr. Dan Christensen is currently both Product Line Manager and Key Account Manager for TOPTICA Photonics, Inc. near Rochester, NY, USA. Dan's first exposure to Optics was as an undergraduate working in Dr. Dallin Durfee's lab at Brigham Young University where he helped to build a thermal atomic ion beam interferometer. This work gave him the opportunity to present at an OSA FiO conference, where he was impressed by the limitless applications of optics and photonics. Dr. Dan then earned his MS and Ph.D. in Optics from The Institute of Optics at The University of Rochester. His doctoral training was spent in a neuroscience lab under the advisement of Drs. Maiken Nedergaard and Andrew Berger, focused on constructing microscopes for in vivo investigation of cranial blood flow and calcium signaling in mice and rats. Dan has been with TOPTICA Photonics in various roles since 2013.

Professional societies have played a significant role throughout Dan's career progression. At BYU, Dan was a founding member of the OSA student chapter and quickly found a home at OSA conferences. While at the University of Rochester, Dan served on the Rochester OSA chapter section board as Secretary. Dr. Dan has also been very active with SPIE locally and nationally, having been appointed a founding member of the Future Leaders ad hoc Committee and was the first student invited to the Engineering, Science, and Technology Policy (ESTeP) Committee. He was also a founding member of the University of Rochester Student SPIE Chapter and eventually served as Secretary, Vice President, and President.

Dan maintains his membership in the Rochester Section of OSA to stay close to the local community while continuing to engage in OSA and SPIE internationally. Dr. Dan chaired the Tech Transfer Pitch Panel at CLEO 2016 in (San Jose, CA), attended the first OSA Innovation School in 2017 (Washington, DC), and continues to serve on the ESTeP committee for SPIE where, among other activities, he has lobbied in Washington DC for scientific interests. As a 2018 OSA Ambassador, Dan is committed to providing career advice and mentoring to students and young professionals and to empower them to take advantage of the great opportunities offered to them through OSA.