Just a little about me

I have had an interest in astronomy for as long as I

can remember. My parents supported this interest by

picking up one of those ubiquitous Montgomery Wards

(remember them?) 60mm refractors often picked up

as a starter scope. The scope was made in Japan and

actually had great optics iirc. It set my parents back

$50, was all metal and better quality than what you

generally see today for starter scopes!

Back then, I often dreamed of buying a nice high-

quality scope, collecting Unitron, Cave and Parks

telescope catalogs! As a teen, I ended up saving a

few bucks to pick up a 4.25” Edmunds reflector on an

equatorial mount, my first ‘serious’ scope! After

graduation from college, I followed that up with a

Coulter 10” red tube dob, a serious light bucket back

then.

My original website was started in back in 2002, just

a few years after picking up my first imaging worthy

setup. That was a Meade 12” LX200, coupled to a

Starlight Xpress MX7C. A few years later, the Meade

came off of the LX200 mount and onto a Losmandy

Titan, a mount more than capable of handling the

heft of the 12” OTA (along with guidescope and

cameras). From there, I went to a 10” Newtonian

with custom Royce F4 mirror, then a 12” AstroTech

truss RC, picked up from a fellow imaging friend,

Steve Cooper. Most recently, the Titan was swapped

out for an Astro-Physics AP1200 (from fellow astro-

friend, Chuck Faranda). Cameras progressed from

the SX MX7C to the H9C, to the larger M25C and

finally the full frame SXVR-H36, all wonderful

cameras from the mind of Terry Platt, at Starlight

Xpress

Outside of astro-imaging, I enjoy machining aluminum

(for the hobby or stuff that needs repair), fresh water

aquarium (40g custom tank), building computers,

high-end audio and video, woodworking, camping and

travel. We have evolved to a 30’ trailer, just to have

enough space for all of us, but it doubles as my home

away from home at all of those star parties! Talk

about ‘roughing’ it!

On the professional side, even though I graduated from college with a Chemical Engineering degree, I started

work with Western Electric in Reading, PA on semiconductor processing of LEDs. Work/study programs

allowed me to complete masters degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Materials Engineering, and my

focus switched to bipolar devices. In August of 1994, a transfer to the Orlando plant and the local Bell

Laboratories group to develop BiCMOS, SiGe CBiCMOS and advanced CMOS technologies occurred. It was a

privilege to work with some of the best and brightest engineers on the planet! After retiring from Bell Labs

in 2008 (fab/plant closure), I joined and managed a newly created technology development group at TriQuint

Semiconductor, since merged with RFMD and now called Qorvo, Inc. There, we develop the technologies to

make advanced SAW filters for mobile devices. After that fab closed, I joined Skyworks Solutions, heading

up R&D as a Sr. Director for their advanced SAW filter division. It was a lot of fun working with a great group

of talented engineers at the fabs in SIngapore and Japan. The majority of my 27 patents (as of end of 2025)

came from my time at Bell Labs and Qorvo, but several are now starting to show up from Skyworks. As of

August, 2023, I am officially retired from my position at Skyworks, doing a bit of contract/consulting work

for them. It has been a fun ride, but looking forward to my years of retirement ahead!