Stefan Popien

Stefan Popien

APE2026-09-02T07:25:04+02:00

CEO

As the son of APE founder Jan Popien, Stefan has been connected to APE since childhood. In 2008, while still at school, he wrote the "APE Optics Calculator" web tool and smartphone apps, both still in use today. He went on to study physics at Freie Universität Berlin, where an internship at Coherent in Santa Clara gave him his first hands-on taste of laser physics. He must have liked it: in 2014 he joined APE full-time, working in R&D on nonlinear light sources and ultrafast laser diagnostics, and contributing the accompanying theory and simulations. In 2026, Stefan became Co-CEO alongside his father. Outside APE, he enjoys programming and home automation, photography, and fast vehicles, a passion that started early, when he spent one school Easter break in APE's basement rebuilding a classic East German scooter, complete with a souped-up engine.

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