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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Richard Kurtz, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial
Officer, certify that:

       1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Advanced Photonix,
Inc.;

       2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

       3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the issuer as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;

       4. I am responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for
the issuer and I have:

              a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
       such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
       supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the issuer,
       including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
       within those entities, particularly during the period in which this
       report is being prepared;

              b) evaluated the effectiveness of the issuer's disclosure controls
       and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
       effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of
       the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

              c) disclosed in this report any change in the issuer's internal
       control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
       13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred during the registrant's most
       recent fiscal quarter (the issuer's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of
       an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
       to materially affect, the issuer's internal control over financial
       reporting.

       5. I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the issuer's auditors and the audit
committee of the issuer's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent functions):

              a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
       design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
       are reasonably likely to adversely affect the issuer's ability to record,
       process, summarize and report financial information; and

              b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
       other employees who have a significant role in the issuer's internal
       control over financial reporting.


Date: June 24, 2005                       /s/ RICHARD KURTZ
                                          --------------------------------------
                                          Richard Kurtz
                                          Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and
                                          Acting Chief Financial Officer