About Me

I am an optical engineer by training, but that is just what you would learn by reading the education section of my resume. I think that what best describes me is a modified version of the BASF ad from a while back - I don't make the things you buy, I make them better. My focus is always on improving efficiency and effectiveness.

Background

I grew up in Brunswick, ME and went to college at Connecticut College, where I majored in Physics and minored in Computer Science. After college I moved to Massachusetts and worked for Barr Associates, a thin-film filter company. The company was in the middle of the telecom boom when I was hired and I worked there for a little more than three years. During that time I watched the company shrink around me, while my friends and colleagues got laid off. I came to the realization that I needed to go back to school.

Off I went to the University of Rochester for a Masters in Optics. During that time I learn more than I expected to about optics, but more importantly I met my wife, Nicole. After finishing my Masters, I ended up being hired by the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) as an optical engineer on the OMEGA EP project. I was the project coordinator for the wavefront controls system, the adaptive optics system used to improve the focal spot of the laser. Additionally, I initiated a new alignment tool call the parabola alignment diagnostic (PAD). The PAD was designed to be placed in a ten-inch manipulator (TIM) and allow for the alignment of the off-axis parabola (the focusing optics for the short pulse part of OMEGA EP), as well as aid in wavefront correction. As the project came to a conclusion, I was asked to lead the Opto-Mechanical group, which was comprised of 25 technicians and engineers. This was a completely new experience for me, as I hadn't managed a group before. Although there were some bumpy moments at the beginning, I learned to balance my engineering responsibilities with my management responsibilities and to enjoy and excel at both parts.

In the mean time, Nicole finished her PhD and had found a professor position at Elmhurst College. I was able to find a position at Argonne National Laboratory, in the Detector Pool at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The detector pool is an equipment loaning service for the experimenters to enable more science with less money. During my time there, I have focused on reducing the repetitive issues and improving the user experience. Most of the equipment is controlled using EPICS and most of the detectors are controlled using Area Detector. Over the past few years I have become extremely familiar with the building, configuration and startup of EPICS IOCs. Most recently, I have been working on changes to AreaDetector drivers for the Dectris Mythen and Quantum Detectors Xspress3. All of my changes are available on my GitHub repository.

If you are interested, you can find me on LinkedIn or contact me, if you are interest in a copy of resume.