Dr. Tran received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1972, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Catholic University in Wash., DC in 1975 and 1978, respectively.  He spent one year at Battelle Columbus Laboratories in Ohio as a material scientist, and joined the Naval Research Laboratory as a research scientist in 1979. He was promoted to group leader of fluoride glass research for the Navy Ultra-Low Loss Fiber Program in 1982, and then to Head of the Non-Oxide Materials Section of the Optical Sciences Division in 1984. He has published extensively and is the holder of many patents in the field of IR materials and optical fibers. Dr. Tran founded Infrared Focal Systems in 1986.