Optical Designer

An optical engineer with broad (+25 years) professional experience in the design, tolerancing, analysis and development of specialized optical systems for scientific imaging and spectroscopy.

• Ingenieurwissenschaft
• Optik / technische Optik
• Optische Messtechnik
• Optoelektronik
• System Design
• Systems Engineering

I have worked as optical designer and architect, analyst and system engineer for Earth observation, security, astronomy and astrophysics, and laboratory scientific research systems. Originally my roles were optical and opto-mechanical design, system alignment, testing and commissioning. However, I moved from combining opto-mechanics with optics to optical design some twenty-five years ago. The instruments I have designed cover classical and freeform systems for imaging, spectroscopy, radiometry, adaptive optics and laser scanning.
• Conceptual and detailed design of satellite optical systems for Earth observation, security and surveillance covering the spectral range from the UV to the Thermal-IR: telescopes, grating and Fourier transform spectrometers, reflecting telescopes, refractive and cata- dioptric lenses.
• Refractive and catadioptric lenses for navigation and search.
• Satellite quasi-optical systems for astronomy and astrophysics from the Terahertz to the
sub-millimetre wave.
• Ground-based astronomy instrumentation, including reflective and refractive optics for cameras, imaging spectrometers, imaging photometers, grating spectrographs and adaptive optics. Operating conditions from ambient temperatures, cold and cryogenic down to 4 mK.
• Laboratory camera, laser, and optical computer systems for the imaging of particle flows in velocimmetry; laser beam propagation and delivery.
• Refractive and catadioptric camera lenses, optical computing and relay lenses.

• Bachelor of Science, University of Edinburgh, 1986 – 1990. Mathematics; secondary subjects Mathematical Physics and Physics. (Full-time.)
The following two advanced degrees were largely conducted as private study whilst em- ployed as Senior Research Fellow in the THz Optics Group, NUI Maynooth, and working directly with ESA on the projects concerned.
• Master of Science, National University of Ireland Maynooth, 2007. Optical analysis and performance prediction for the Herschel Space Observatory telescope and the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infra-Red.
• Doctor of Philosophy, National University of Ireland Maynooth, 2011. Scattering of THz radiation in corrugated waveguides and performance prediction for the Plank High Frequency Instrument.