John Gaskins

June 17, 2026 Francois Martin

John Gaskins leads Laser Thermal with a focus on translating fundamental thermal science into measurement tools that serve industry. His work sits at the intersection of rigorous metrology and practical engineering, building instruments that answer questions existing tools were not designed to address.
John earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia, then joined the ExSiTE Lab, one of the leading research programs in the interrogation of thermal properties at small scales, rising from Research Associate to Principal Scientist and co-director before founding Laser Thermal in 2020.
At Laser Thermal, John owns product strategy, customer engagement, and the translation of thermoreflectance methods into repeatable, industry-ready workflows. He works directly with customers across microelectronics, defense, and advanced manufacturing to ensure measurements connect to material and device decisions. He has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed technical papers and was an invited speaker at FCMN 2026. He serves on boards and advisory committees spanning entrepreneurship, manufacturing, and scientific advising, including Venture Central, GENEDGE, and the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
John lives in Charlottesville with his wife and two children.

Francois Martin

Francois Martin

Francois Martin is Marketing Manager at Laser Thermal. The company makes precision instruments for non-contact, non-destructive thermal conductivity measurement, serving the semiconductor, power electronics and thermal management industries. He oversees how Laser Thermal tells its story, from technical content and sales collateral to video production, webinars and trade show presence. The goal is to make the company's science clear and useful to the engineers and researchers who rely on accurate thermal data. Francois brings more than 25 years of marketing and executive leadership experience. He was VP of Marketing at Nelson Miller Group, an outsourced manufacturing provider for OEMs. Before that, he spent more than two decades at WorldStrides, rising from Marketing Director to Senior Vice President in the Office of the CEO. He is adjunct faculty in the MBA program at James Madison University's College of Business, where he teaches Project Management. Francois holds an MBA in Marketing from George Washington University and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from the University of Virginia.