Donald R. Scifres is co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc. He currently holds 93 U. S. patents and has published over 274 technical articles.

Scifres received his BSEE with highest distinction from Purdue in 1968. Upon receiving his PhD degree from the University of Illinois in 1972, he joined the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. There he set up a new laboratory for study of semiconductor lasers and light emitting diodes. While at Xerox, Scifres and his colleagues developed many new semiconductor laser structures as well as integrating optical and electronic components into a single semiconductor laser chip. In 1976, he became manager of the Opto-Electronics Group at Xerox and in 1981 was appointed a Xerox Research Fellow. In 1983, Scifres helped found Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc., the recognized world leader in high power semiconductor laser technologies.

Scifres is a Fellow of IEEE and the Optical Society of America and is a member of the LEOS Board of Governors. He is also a member of the American Physical Society, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Phi Eta Sigma. Scifres was awarded the IEEE Jack Morton Medal in 1985, the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award from Purdue University in 1990, and the E²CA² Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois in 1991.