meet our scientists

Mark V. Weckwerth, Ph.D.
TRIA Beauty Co-Founder, Vice President, Senior Technical Advisor

Mark was born in Minnesota, the last of five children and the only boy. While his interests as a child included everything from sports to music, Mark decided to pursue his strong abilities in math and science, eventually attending the University of Minnesota where his father was and still is, a professor.

In 1988, he earned bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, graduating with high honors. After a brief position with IBM research in New York, Mark attended Stanford University where he received both his masters and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering with a thesis topic that involved the growth of crystals for high speed quantum-electronic devices. Upon completing a post-doctoral position at Sandia National Laboratories, he decided to pursue his entrepreneurial instincts.

After participating in several high-tech startups including Star Medical Technologies, Inc., Mark is one of the four co-founders of TRIA Beauty, Inc. His focus is on the development of product ideas that reach beyond hair and acne. Mark's tireless pursuit of new technologies, and technical design expertise makes him a true originator and trailblazer in the world of FDA-cleared and proven; professional-grade, light-based aesthetic devices, designed for use at home.

From May 2003 through January 2004 TRIA Beauty co-founder Mark Weckwerth treated a 3"x 3" square patch on his leg once per month with the TRIA Laser. Watch Mark talk about his experience and the great hair-free results he achieved.

Robert "Bob" E. Grove, Ph.D.
TRIA Beauty Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer

Growing up, Robert's father was a physicist at Princeton University and played an important role in his interest in technology.

Following receipt of his Ph.D. in laser applications from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bob joined the research staff of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and later left his position as project leader to form Plasma Kinetics, Inc., the world's first copper vapor laser company.

Bob went on to found DermaCare, Inc., a healthcare services provider. With DermaCare he opened and managed two aesthetic laser centers in Southern California, providing state-of-the-art dermatologic services to over 400 patients per month.

Bob served as a private consultant to the medical laser industry, but returned to start-up activities with the founding of Star Medical Technologies in 1993. Star soon became part of Palomar Medical and concentrated efforts on development of a diode laser system for aesthetic applications. Six years later, Star was sold to Coherent Medical Group, the market leader in laser hair removal with most of its profits derived from its line of LightSheer in-office systems for permanent hair reduction.

In January of 2003, Bob founded SpectraGenics with three former associates from Star Medical with the mission of becoming the global leader in therapeutic, light-based aesthetic devices for the consumer market. This collaboration resulted in the birth of TRIA Beauty, Inc.

At TRIA Beauty, Inc, Bob's past contributions include serving as CEO until the summer of 2008. His current role as CTO is to identify new technologies; maintain and foster an ongoing relationship with the professional dermatology community; and assist the CEO in evaluating strategic opportunities.

Bob currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery; is the author of ten scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals such as Physical Review Letters; and holds eight U.S. patents in the field of medical lasers and applications.

A Michigan native, Mike chose to become a chemist after a childhood where the majority of his spare time was spent in endless hours either taking things apart, putting them back together, or blowing them up..

After completing his bachelor's degree the University of Michigan and later his Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from the University of Rochester, Mike pursued his interest in simulating the process of growth cycles in nature and non-surgical methods for monitoring body, organ and tissue functions.

As a senior hands-on technical leader at TRIA Beauty, Mike has over fifteen years experience at large multi-national medical device companies where he served as a mentor to scientists as a researcher and an expert in the field of laser science amongst many others.

Serving as the "Research" portion of TRIA Beauty's "Research and Development", team, Mike's ability to simulate the skin's innate rejuvenation and healing properties, along with his deep understanding of how light interacts with skin, truly define the core principles of TRIA products and our approach to skincare.

Tobin "Toby" C. Island, Ph.D.
TRIA Beauty Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer

Born in St. Paul, MN, Toby's family moved to Seattle, where his dad became a professor at University of Washington, and then settled five years later in Roseville, CA. Growing up, Toby was academically-oriented but also loved sports and the outdoors, being an avid soccer player and skier who was lucky enough to spend 40 days per year on the slopes of the Sierras. Toby graduated high school as his class valedictorian and received a National Merit scholarship.

Toby attended Stanford University as an undergraduate, studying pre-medical and engineering fields, and receiving a BS with Honors in Mechanical Engineering in 1989. While an undergrad, Toby made the decision to remain at Stanford for graduate work, obtaining a Masters degree under the Stanford Fellowship program in 1990 and a PhD in 1997, all in Mechanical Engineering. His graduate work focused on fluid mechanics, lasers, and laser diagnostics.

In 1997, Toby began his career at Star Medical, where he led research and development of a novel laser-based imaging system for measuring blood circulation for application to skin burns, along with overseeing numerous clinical studies and authoring the user manual for the LightSheer hair removal laser.

Shorty thereafter, Toby focused his efforts on the LightSheer and directed the engineering of seven different models over several years. The LightSheer remains the gold standard in laser hair removal. In addition, Toby also led development on the BClear and Relume UV arc-lamp products designed for the treatment of psoriasis, vitiligo (loss of skin pigment), and related conditions. Afterward, Toby focused his talents on leading engineering, manufacturing, and business teams and overall company operations for Lumenis' Aesthetic Business Unit.

Fast forward to TRIA Beauty. As one of the TRIA Beauty founders, Toby's role has included a wide-range of diverse activities, which he loves. His participation ranges from intense involvement in the mechanical engineering, clinical/regulatory/quality, manufacturing, and logistics.

Toby and his team are responsible for obtaining domestic and international regulatory clearances, basic clinical trials, new product engineering, manufacturing, and the logistics to get them in the hands of our customers.

Born in Taiwan, Harvey immigrated to US and settled in Southern CA when he was 13. As a boy, his uncle who was a physician encouraged him to be an electrical engineer and become a start-up entrepreneur. His uncle's encouragement led to Harvey's completion of the Ph. D program at Stanford with specialization in solid-state devices. Shortly thereafter, his two brothers became physicians and sparked Harvey's interest in the medical field.

After obtaining his Ph. D., Harvey spent time in Boston working at MIT's Lincoln Lab designing high-speed CMOS devices for satellites during which time, he fell in love with the medical device industry and got involved in both dermatology and ophthalmology.

In 1998, Harvey was approached by TRIA co-founder, Mark Weckwerth to join Star Medical to help develop and optimize the first office based laser diode hair removal system. It was just the opportunity he was looking for so, he jumped on board.

Today, Harvey manages TRIA's elite team of Engineers and provides key engineering support. He believes that TRIA Beauty is the premiere destination for top-of-class medical devices made accessible to the general public. "I believe this is the trend for the future..." says Harvey.