VU Alumni
How has the study of physics at
VU helped to shape your career?
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What is your current Job?
By whom are you employed?
What are you Doing in this
present position?
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What is your educational and
employment History since VU?
What Comments can you share
with current students?
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The goal(s)
Why is this interesting?
How can this help?
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What is your future Job?
By whom will you be employed?
What might you be Doing in this
employment position?
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How might you proceed with
education/employment after
VU?
What can you learn from those
who “have done it already”?
2
The goal(s)
Why is this interesting?
How can this help?
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Let’s see if we can detect some
lessons as we hear from our
alumni...
Keep some notes of what you
find interesting, helpful, and
new?
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How might you suggest this
information could be used?
Would you be interested in
communicating with some of
these alumni?
3
The method
How were these data gathered?
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An e-mail went out to some of
our alumni whose e-mail
addresses were current.
In four days, over 40 alumni
replied!
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I collated the replies - and Paul
Nord helped set up this
presentation.
Hang on … let’s have some
fun!
4
After Graduation from VU
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~50% go to graduate school immediately
-- Then what…?
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~50% go to employment immediately
-- Doing what…?
5
Jay Dittmann - 1992
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Job - Leon M. Lederman Fellow 
post-doc
Employer - Fermilab
Doing - post-doctoral research
associate, working on upgrade to
the CDF instrument, educating
the public about the science we
do at Fermilab and why it is
important
HISTORY
– Attended graduate school at Duke
– Ph.D. 1998 in physics
– 1998 appointment to Leon M.
Lederman Fellow at Fermilab
6
Steve Eckardt - 1978
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Job - optical engineer
Employer - 3M corporation
Doing - designing overhead
projectors and LCD projectors
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HISTORY
– MS in optics from University of
Arizona
– Started Ph.D. program but ran out
of money
– Worked for 3 years
– Returned to school and finished
Ph.D.
– Worked for 3M ever since
7
Dave Baran - 1983
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Job - program manager of the
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Highly Enriched Uranium
Transparency project
Employer - DOE Washington DC
and Argonne National Lab
Doing - Monitoring the
dismantling of the Russian
nuclear weapons
HISTORY
– Graduate School at Northwestern
– Ph.D. in nuclear physics 1989
– Aerospace Corporation 19891991, El Segundo, CA
– DOE New Brunswick Laboratory
1991 to present, Argonne, IL
8
Sandra Kleinschmidt - 1959
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Job - Professor of Physics
Employer -University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh
Doing - teaching physics and
research
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HISTORY
– Graduate t U of Pittsburgh.
– Ph.D. in solid state EPR and
NMR
– 1966 professorship at Oshkosh
9
Norm Kolb - 1983
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Job - Professor of Physics
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Employer - University of
Saskatchewan
Doing - teaching physics,
research in proto-nuclear physics,
supervise two graduate students
HISTORY
– Summer work at Los Alamos
(thanks to Don Koetke)
– Graduate school at U. of IL
– M.Sc. (physics) in 1984, Ph.D.
(Experimental Nuclear Physics)
in 1989
– Post-doc at University of Alberta.
– 1993 professorship at University
of Saskatchewan
10
Dale Koetke - 1986
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Job - Software Analyst
Employer - Microsoft Corp.
Doing - Analysis of software to
improve software efficiency specifically for the Exchange
product.
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HISTORY
Ph.D. Stanford University ‘92
Center for European Nuclear
Research (postdoc) ‘92-’98
Microsoft Corporation
11
Elwyn Dolecek- 1964
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Job - Health Physicist
Employer - Argonne National
Laboratory
Doing - Managing and
developing personnel radiation
monitoring program at DOE
laboratories -- Research in
radiation detection and
monitoring
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HISTORY - Ph.D. Rutgers
University in Health Physics - Health physicist at ANL
12
John Giles - 1966
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Job - Physicist
Employer - Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics
Laboratory
Doing - have worked with
submarine security in the
Submarine Technology
Department
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HISTORY
– 1966-1969 Engineer at Boeing,
Wichita, KS
– MS physics 1969, Wichita State
– 1969-1974 Graduate student at
Johns Hopkins University
– 1974 Ph.D.
– 1974-present physicist at Johns
Hopkins
13
David Kohlstedt - 1965
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Job - Professor of Geology and
Geophysics & Institute of
Technology Distinguished
Professor
Employer - Department of
Geology and Geophysics,
University of Minnesota
Doing - teaching and research in
geophysics
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HISTORY
14
Tom Horst - 1965
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Job - Head, Surface Sensing
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Group
Employer - Atmospheric
Technology Division, National
Center for Atmospheric Research
Doing - Research in atmospheric
turbulence and atmospheresurface turbulent exchange
fluxes.
HISTORY
– MS in physics U. of Illinois 1967
– Ph.D. in atmospheric science at
U. of Washington, 1977
– Atmospheric Science Department,
Pacific Northwest Lab 1976-1989
– Atmospheric Technology
Division National Center for
Atmospheric Research 1989 -
15
David Christiansen - 1983
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Job - Asst. Professor, basic and
applied biophysics
Employer -University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey
Doing - Research on collagen
self-assembly, tissue structure
and function, and extracellular
matrix mineralization
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HISTORY
– Rutgers Materials Science
Graduate program 1.5 years then
transferred to Biomedical
Engineering
– Ph.D. 1992
– NIH postdoctoral fellowship
Univ. of Penn. Department of
Orthopedic Surgery
16
Paul Sieving - 1970
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Job - Professor of
Ophthalmology
Employer - University of
Michigan medical school
Doing - see patients with eye
diseases one-day each week,
conduct research in electrical
phenomenon of retinal cells.
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HISTORY
– Graduate school at Yale 19701974 in nuclear physics
– Switched to biology to study
molecular genetics
– Became interested in medical
career and left Yale to attend U. of
Illinois medical school.
– Completed a joint MD-Ph.D. in
bio-engineering
17
Cindy Thompson - 1996
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Third year law Student
Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL
Doing - Studying for the Law
Degree -- Intellectual Property
Law (patents, trademarks, ...)
18
Paul Kolb - 1986
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Job - Ph.D. Candidate and
Research Assistant, Physics
Employer - University of
Maryland
Doing - Research for Ph.D.
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HISTORY
– Summer t Los Alamos (thanks to
Prof. Koetke)
– Travel foreign countries, learning
Spanish
– 3 years teaching Valpo HS
– 4 years teaching Colegio
Internacional de Caracas
– Returned to graduate school at U.
of MD
19
Bob Scherpelz - 1970
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Job - Staff Scientist, health 
physicist in a research group
Employer - Dosimetry
Research & Technology,
Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory
Doing - radiation dose modeling,
radiation transport modeling,
neutron detectors for damaged
Chernobyl reactor
HISTORY
– H.S. teacher, math & science
– 2 years working grocery stores, Ft.
Collins, CO
– 2 years Peace Corps teaching math
and physics in British West Indies
– Grad school Oregon State
– MS in Nuclear Engineering 1978
– PNNL to present
20
Bob Witte - 1982
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Job - Engineering Manager
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Employer - CTS Corporation
Doing - Leading teams of
engineers in development of new
products
HISTORY
– Started with Motorola as
component design engineer
– Now work for CTS
– MS in Engineering Management
21
Ron Kneusel - 1983
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Job - data analysis
Employer - Medical College of
Wisconsin
Doing - data management and
statistical analysis, functional
MRI (a blend of physics,
computer programming, biology
physiology and chemistry)
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HISTORY
– Michigan State 1989 to 1991
– Completed theses 1993
22
Alan Buswell - 1984
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Job - Senior Scientist
Employer - Spectral Technology
Group with Ball Aerospace
Doing - Developing algorithms,
techniques and tools for
extracting information from
remote sensing data, primarily
hyperspectral data.
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HISTORY
– MS degree from University of
Dayton, in electro-optics
23
Lisa Foye - 1983
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Job - Medical Physicist
Employer - Owner of a
consulting firm in medical
physics, Phoenix, AZ
Doing - accepting and
commissioning linear
accelerators and other radiation
emitting devices, responsible for
the correct dose distribution and
delivery of radiation treatments
to patients and patient and
personal safety.
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HISTORY
– MS in Medical Physics from The
University of Health
Sciences/The Chicago Medical
School, 1985
– Worked for a hospital radiation
therapy center for 3.5 years
24
Danielle Boyd - 1996
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Job - Peace Corps
East Africa
Doing - teaching physics
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HISTORY
– Graduate school, Stanford
University, CA
– MS in geophysics
– Teaching assistant University of
Arizona, Physics Department
25
Carl Keller - 1963
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Job - Principal Scientist
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Employer - Owner of Flexible
Underground Liner Technologies
Doing - Applied science ranging
from heat transfer to hydraulics,
porous flow processes in the
earth, pneumatics, mechanics,
etc.
HISTORY
– 1965 MS degree at RPI in
Engineering Science/ Nuclear
Science
– 1966-1974 Los Alamos National
Lab containment systems for
underground nuclear testing
– 1974-1985 Head of containment
research and design for all DOD
underground nuclear tests.
– 1985-present Work in private
sector
– 1996 Started my own company
26
Michael Goerhing - 1964
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Job - Technology transfer
 HISTORY
specialist
– MS in physics, Purdue
Employer - Aerospace Research
Applications Center, Indianapolis
Doing - conducting searches of
databases to find new
technologies for transfer to
individuals and companies
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Bill Baumgartner - 1984
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Job - Operations Engineer,
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Special Project Group
Employer - Next Linear Collider
Department, Stanford University
Doing - manage small X-band
electron accelerator, design and
test X-band (11.4GHz) klystrons,
accelerating structures, RF
transport, beam dynamics, and
support functions. Collaborator
on an experiment testing a
plasma lens.
HISTORY
– 1984-1989 Fermilab Accelerator
Operations (got job from Elvin
Harms, a VU grad)
– 1989-1995 SLAC Accelerator
Operations
– 1995-present NLC Test
Accelerator
28
Jim Kolterman - 1991
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Job - Instrument Scientist
Employer - Abbott Labs
(Pharmaceutical)
Doing - Instrument design,
installation, training for
pharmaceutical research and
development. Travel around the
world as well as at Abbot Labs.
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HISTORY
– Continued education at Northern
Illinois University
– Worked bar tender
– “temp” work at Abbott Labs
29
Jim LeMunyon - 1981
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Job - President, CEO, and owner 
Employer - Novecon, Inc
Doing - technology transfer from
foreign countries through the US
patent process - especially Russia
HISTORY
– University of Wisconsin, Madison
studying meteorology
– Science advisor to U.S. Senator
John Anderson
– Started my own business
30
Jonathan DeVilbis - 1996
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Job - Peace Corps
Ghana West Africa
Doing - teaching high school
mathematics
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HISTORY
– Plan to pursue at least a master’s
degree in physics
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Lisa Peters - 1985
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Job - Chief Scientist and Head of  HISTORY
Raytheon’s Commercial
Electronics Group’s Research
Employer - Raytheon
Corporation
Doing -
32
Jason Hayward - 1999
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Job - Student, US Navy Nuclear  HISTORY
Power School
– Enlisted in US Navy
Employer - USA
Doing - going to school. Will be
teaching physics to enlisted
students.
33
Sheila MacKay - 1959
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Job - Director, Manufacturing  HISTORY
Services and Business Operations – American Institute of Physics,
NYC for 2 years
Employer - Journals for
– Academic Press, 38 years
Academic Press
Doing - Manage all business and
quality control operations
34
Greg Grossart - 1996
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Job - Actuarial Analyst
Employer - William M. Mercer,
Inc., Chicago, IL
Doing - Work in benefits
consulting
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HISTORY
– Worked 1 year in Healthcare and
Group Benefits
– Last 2.5 years for Retirement
Practice (Indianapolis office)
35
Ali Mojahar - 1995
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Job - Sr. Program Manager
 HISTORY
– First job as technical support for
Employer - Microsoft
VU, in Kretzmann Hall
Corporation, IGT Global
– Taking some graduate classes
Networks and Systems
Doing - part of group responsible
for Microsoft’s global IT
infrastructure
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Donald Baeder - 1976
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Job - Architect for licensing and
installation
Employer - Cadence Design
Systems
Doing - review all of the
packaging and licensing for the
entire company (over 700
individual software products)
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HISTORY
– Taught high school in Monon, IN
– MS EE/Computer Engineering
from U of TX
37
Donald Becker - 1959
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Job - Senior Research Nuclear  HISTORY
Chemist
– MS in Physical Chemistry at
Florida State 1961
Employer - National Institutes of
Standards and Technology
Doing - nuclear analytical
chemistry by nuclear activation
analysis
38
Paul Nord - 1991
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Job - Technical Specialist
 HISTORY
– Hired directly out of college by
Employer - Valparaiso
VU physics department to work
University, Department of
on research at Los Alamos.
physics and astronomy
– Position became more of a
Doing - Lots of different stuff.
general technical support staff the
following year.
Mostly with computers. But I
often drill holes in walls. Work
with department research projects
and occasionally travel to
research labs around the country.
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John Kohlmeyer - 1983
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Job - Director of Solutions
Engineering
Employer - SAP America, Inc. a
subsidiary of a German software
company
Doing - Manage regional
department of application
consultants and a team of
consultants who manage the
internal demonstration systems
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HISTORY
40
Bernard Dehlin - 1962
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Job - Principal Engineer
Employer - Raytheon Systems
Company, RF Systems
Engineering Center
Doing - System engineering for
airborne radar set special test
equipment.
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HISTORY
– High school and junior college
physics teaching (16 years)
– MA 1970, California State
– 22 Years System software
engineering (so far)
41
Walter Crosmer - 1956
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Job - Manager of Systems
Engineering Department of
Inertial Systems Engineering
Employer - Space Systems
Division of Honeywell Inc.
Doing - development and
production of inertial reference
systems for satellites, space
probes, interceptor missiles.
Mars Surveyor, European Mars
Express, Titan Centaur, Atlas
Centaur, THAAD, Patriot
Advanced Capability.
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HISTORY
– Oklahoma A&M graduate school
in physics for one year
– Boeing Airplane company 1957,
Seattle, WA
– 1960 Bendix Systems Division
(working on Apollo, Viking), Ann
Arbor, MI
– 1977 Honeywell Corporation,
Clearwater, FL
42
Donald Thurnau - 1945
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Job - Retired
 HISTORY
– Army service
Employer – Some work with Manhattan
Doing - some consulting with oil
Project
production software
– MS in physics, U of Kansas,
vacuum tube amplifiers
– 1949 Mobil Oil on Dallas, TX
– Ph.D. U of Colorado, ultraviolet
spectroscopy.
– Dupont designing instrumentation
– Marathon Oil research center
– Formed a consulting company in
1968 to produce oil field software
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Andrew Makowski - 1999
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Job - Medical School Student
Stritch School Of Medicine of
Loyola University of Chicago
Doing - I’m the only physics
major in my class
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HISTORY
44
Richard Maupin - 1999
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Job - Graduate Student
 HISTORY
Employer - Ball State
Doing - Grad student with
research fellowship, assist in
planetarium presentations,
process and analyze data
collected on red stars, work at
National Undergraduate Research
Observatory near Flagstaff, AZ
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Lindsey Hillesheim - 1999
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Job - Graduate student in
 HISTORY
biophysics
Employer - University of
Minnesota
Doing - Studying! And teaching
lab sections.
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Current Graduate Students
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Grant Kiehne (1992) - physics
Jason Webb (1995) - physics
Eric Vaandering (1993) - physics
Andrew Makowski (1999) - medicine
Andrew Richter (1990) - physics
Paul Kolb (1986) - physics
Lindsey Hillesheim (1999) - biophysics
Cindy (Thompson) Barnett (1996) - law
Richard Maupin (1999) - astronomy/teaching
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Closing thoughts...
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Don’t be anxious about your future; you have many options!
Think broadly about your future plans; they will likely change!
Be confident about your preparation for you future; you’re in
good hands!
Follow a broadly-based education; it will be the foundation for
change!
Consider counsel from alumni - and even possible jobs through
them; they are a valuable resource
One day you will appear on this list!
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