Short Biography

I graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in physics, astrophysics, and astronomy in 1997, and got my Ph.D. in physics at Caltech in 2006. I pioneered a data reduction approach (CRUSH) and new observing modes (e.g. Lissajous scans) for the SHARC-2 350μm camera, designed wide-band SIS mixers, and brought the first far-infrared characterization of the submillimeter galaxy (SMG) population. As postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn, I had a major role in the optimization and commissioning of the APEX bolometer cameras LABOCA and SABOCA, the polarimetry frontend PolKa, and in conducting the LABOCA surveys. Later, I helped commission the GISMO 2-mm camera for the IRAM 30-m telescope, and co-invented (with Jonas Zmuidzinas) lithographic spectrometers for the (sub)millimeter band (SuperSpec). As a Caltech postdoc, I developed a GPU-based chirp readout for kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs); contributed to MAKO; and provided the imaging software for SOFIA/HAWC+. Since 2017, I am the real-time software lead for the Submillimeter Array (SMA); I provided the astronomical telescope control system of the MIT Haystack 37-m telescope; contributed to the A-MKID camera for APEX; and am responsible for the spectral imaging pipeline of the upcoming NASA/POEMM mission. I am interested in all far-infrared technologies, the high-z star-forming Universe; creating open-source software; and in finding ways to use AI — for example to run observatories more efficiently and autonomously. I am generally available for part-time contract work, through my own company Sigmyne, LLC (SAM registered), such as for developing telescope control systems, and/or digital signal processing and FIR data reduction pipelines for your project.