Thomas L. Vogelsong, PhD '76

After working for companies ranging from mature corporations (GE) to startups (PVS), Tom retired in 2016 from the Stanford Research Institute (SRI International). After retiring, Tom moved to the Bay Area and became an active angel investor and advisor to early-stage companies in the medtech, biotech, and tech fields. In his role as Startup Scout at K2X Technology and Life Science (k2x.capital), Tom seeks out and screens over 1000 innovative startups a year to identify those that have the best potential to make an impact on improving healthcare and well-being while offering a sizable financial return to K2X’s investors/shareholders. Tom has enjoyed being an advisor to Lehigh’s College of Health and is encouraging the development of an entrepreneurial spirit in line with Lehigh’s new Strategic Plan.

Tom graduated from Lehigh in 1976 with a BS in electrical engineering, following in the footsteps of his father who graduated from Lehigh in 1949 with a BSEE and spent his career at Bell Labs. Tom’s first job was developing semiconductor image sensors and microprocessor-based image processing systems to replace film-based imaging, while obtaining his MEE and PhD at RPI. Tom moved to a management role at GE Corporate R&D and then transferred to GE’s Medical Business where he worked on MRI, CT, Ultrasound, and Digital X-ray. It was there that Tom first developed his desire to “bring good things to life”. Tom left GE after a few years and worked as an executive at smaller companies in medical device and imaging companies. Tom was the President and CEO of Photon Vision Systems (PVS), a startup in CMOS imagers and imaging systems. Tom raised several rounds of angel and VC funding prior to a PVS acquisition by Panavision. Tom finished his corporate executive career at SRI where he led a team developing photonic systems for applications ranging from sensing neural activities in mice, to sending cameras on NASA missions to the sun, to developing endoscopy systems for robotic surgery.

After leaving SRI, Tom grew his passion for advancing medtech by investing in and advising healthcare startups. He completed an on-line class in biochemistry. He connected with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Bay Area including incubators/accelerators at Stanford, Berkeley, and UCSF. This was at about the same time that Lehigh’s former President, John Simon, was connecting Lehigh to the west coast with his Lehigh @ Nasdaq Center partnership and the Baker Institute’s Lehigh in Silicon Valley Program. In alignment with those initiatives, Tom hosted two Lehigh interns in the fall of 2020, one in the spring or 2021, and during the fall 2021 semester he advised a team of five Lehigh undergraduates from across Lehigh’s various colleges in an assessment of the commercialization potential of a Lehigh professor’s innovative biomaterial. 

Tom also volunteers as a judge and/or panelist for several startup competitions including MedTech Innovator, Pepperdine Most Fundable Company, RESI, and the Edge AI and Embedded Vision Summit. In addition, Tom is a Senior Consultant to BioPharma Connections, connecting BioTech and MedTech startups to investors, strategics, regulatory and clinical trial operators, and global marketing partners. 

Tom relaxes by playing tennis and pickleball, skiing, hiking and biking, and traveling. Tom enjoys coming back to campus for the Lehigh-Lafayette football games with his colleagues from McConn House, as well as class reunions and periodic Lehigh Tennis alumni events.