Tucson, Arizona, United States
I have been privileged to have worked in variety of technical fields. My undergraduate studies in Physics lead to graduate work that focused on engineering micro/nano particle delivery systems for use in serial femtosecond crystallography. I spent hundreds of beamtime hours at the world's most advanced light sources (LCLS, SACLA, ESRF, APS) pioneering new sample delivery techniques. Using the data I collected during these experiments, I coauthored several high impact papers advancing structural biology. My PhD work introduced nanoscale 3D printing to this field, which continues to be utilized as a key innovative impetus by graduates and post-docs at ASU. Following this, I spent a few years in defense-based research and engineering which included chemical and biological weapons defense with an emphasis on aerosol research, followed by a brief immersion into C++ programming of defense-based aviation simulations. I returned to my prior appointment as a postdoctoral associate before settling down in Tucson Arizona, where I am employed as an Applications Scientist with RMC Boeckeler, specializing in ultramicrotome applications.
• Conducted scientist/user trials to bridge technical gaps for engineering team • Provided customer support on all technical issues with product line • Lead quality control activities • Performed preventative maintenance servicing, installation, and product training at customer sites • Provided in-house EM imaging preparation application trials for potential customers • Gave training seminars in-house and abroad (China, Brazil)
• Novel microfluidic design using CAD tools and Nanoscale 3D printing • Organizing and conducting device applications at X-ray Free Electron Laser light sources
C++ software development for F-35 simulator
• Acted as embedded subject matter expert to create and support design/fabrication and acquisition activities for chemical and biological weapons defense research with partnering organizations – ECBC Aerosol Lab (APG), U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Academic Institutions, and Contractors o Radiation tracing of radioactive aerosols in 3D printed anaotomies (ECBC) o Electromagnetic trapping of individual aerosolized particles (NRL, ARL) o Piezoelectric-based aerosol generation (ECBC, NRL) o Various experiments utilizing room-scale Environmental Chamber (ECBC, Contractors) o Nanoscale 3D printing for novel aerosol generators (Academic) • Reported and evaluated embedded activity to DTRA supervisor and team members regularly
• Lead research activity in NSF-funded laboratory for single particle bio-sample delivery injector fabrication, nano-scale 3D printing applications, and thin-film microfluidics • Collaborated actively, often in person, with institutions and businesses worldwide • Coauthored NIH High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant (S10) that awarded $667,000 for purchase of a nanoscale 3D printer
• Performed multidisciplinary research (engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology) for the development of sample delivery instrumentation for use in serial crystallography with X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFEL) and synchrotrons. • Led sample injection teams in over 1500 hours of awarded experimental beamtime at the world’s most powerful X-ray facilities, including the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron Laser (SACLA) in Japan, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), and the Advanced Photon Source (APS). • Published several high-impact publications reporting near-atomic resolution structures of important proteins including, for example, one G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) drug target, whose structure could not easily have been determined otherwise. • Engineered nanoscale 3D printing techniques and soft lithography methods to lay the groundwork for advancing the XFEL structural biology field far beyond what has been accomplished to date. • Authored a provisional patent through Technology Enterprises (AzTE)
• Assisted the Single Molecule Biophysics (SMB) group with the development of scan probe 24-hour DNA sequencing by engineering hardware for batch fabrication of insulated Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) tips via parallel electrochemical etching and polyethylene coating, providing modified STM tips for the principal investigator’s six graduate students and staff • Authored comprehensive STM tip fabrication documentation and provided training at a partnering company (Roche) • Fabricated graphene and carbon nanotube forests with gas vapor deposition