Since an early age I’ve been captivated by electricity and magnetism. This interest grew stronger as a teenager, building static electricity machines and eventually Tesla coils once. By the time I’d reached college, I knew I wanted to study electrical engineering. After much hard work, I received my BSEE from University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2008. Since then, I’ve worked in a variety of positions with a focus on power electronics
MPC Products Corp - developing high power 3 phase motor drives for aerospace applications.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - developing high voltage “pulsers” for kickermagnets and general EE support stuff.
ArcAttack - Bass guitarist, presenter and developer road/stage-worthy Tesla Coils and science demos
Continental Controls - R&D with brushless motor servo systems and other high power density electronics including GaN and SiC inverters up to 100kW
CisLunar Industries - Induction heating for metal processing and power supply design for hall effect thrusters.
Commission work - I had the honor to provide Tesla coils for Artist Mary Corse https://whitney.org/exhibitions/mary-corse
The earliest inspiration and interest in electronics comes from my father, who worked as an electrician at the Illinois Central railroad. I remember watching a lightning storm once, perhaps 8 years old, and dad saying “you know, scientists still don’t know how lightning starts…”. That comment, and the occasional box of scrap he would bring home from work had me curious about electricity from an early age. By age13 I’d built Van De Graaf generators and finally a spark gap Tesla coil with a neon sign transformer. I started with a photocopied paperback “Tesla Coil by George Trinkaus”. In that book he described using “solid state circuitry” to possibly eliminate the need for high voltage spark gaps. I was intrigued by this possibility before I knew what a transistor was (other than the name of a 311 album). This curiosity would take me through electrical engineering school where I gained a true foundation in the field and could begin my “real work” beyond the amateur tinkerer. However, the Tesla Coil has been a constant interest and inspiration for my work in electrical engineering with significant time spent with hands-on experience and using computer simulation tools to expand my understanding and further develop these intriguing devices.