Unlike a VCSEL, in which two high-reflecting mirrors are incorporated into the laser structure to form the optical cavity, in a VECSEL one of the two mirrors is external to the diode structure.
However, electrically pumped VECSELs (another matter entirely), were the brainchild of Aram Mooradian, an engineer known for fundamental contributions to diode laser linewidth studies, who worked for many years at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts.