Page 18 - 2020 March E-issue

Announcing the Award Recipients

Join us Saturday, April 18, 2020 at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center
Come congratulate eight 2019 Engineers of Distinction

2019 How have you used your engineering skills for community and
Engineer of Distinction professional leadership?
Leading several Harris University Relation projects has given me the opportunity to work closely with aspiring
engineers in providing guidance and help inspire innovative thinking in problem solving.
What do you consider your greatest engineering achievement?

As part of a team that develops radios for our warfighters and first responders, hearing them come back and
say that the radio helped save their lives makes me feel proud to have made a difference.

Describe a key event or individual that had a profound effect on your
career.

The first radio I worked on, we had a user come in and brief the team on how the radio survived Hurricane
Katrina and provided one of the earliest means of communication. This inspired me to continue developing
Christopher D. Mackey radios as I was able to make a difference.
Senior Fellow / Senior Scientist, What advice would you give to our scholarship recipients, who will be in
L3Harris Technologies attendance at the Gala?
Keep learning, be proactive, persevere, turn your mistakes into a learning experience.
Education:
Pennsylvania State University, Articulate your vision for engineering in Rochester
BS Electrical Engineering (1984)
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Encourage young engineers that they can be a part of Rochester’s rich and on-going history in innovative
BA, Physics (1984) technologies. Those in a technical leadership role should reach out and mentor others.

2019 How have you used your engineering skills for community and
Engineer of Distinction professional leadership?
Advancing knowledge while building a sense of community is important to me. So, in 2013 I launched two
enterprises:
1. The Center for Freeform Optics, a consortium gathering people from academia, industry and government
labs.; 2. LighTopTech, a biotech startup company for safer healthcare.
What do you consider your greatest engineering achievement?
My greatest engineering achievement is the constant ability to innovate across a wide range of engineering
instrumentation that are enabling towards building a safer and better world. (1) The optical design of
SPOT4 - a satellite in orbit from 1998-2013 that captured a new volcanic eruption in Chile which triggered
the evacuation of over 4,000 people. (2) The development of 3D microscopy, GDOCM, that enables guided
surgery.
Describe a key event or individual that had a profound effect on your
Jannick P. Rolland, PhD career.
My PhD advisor, Professor Harry Barrett (University of Arizona), whose advising and mentoring excellence
not only ignited an ever burning fire within me for research in optics, but whose unshakable faith in me and
Brian J. Thompson Professor of support have helped me build inner strength that has been essential to navigate the inevitable waves.
Optical Engineering, The Institute of
Optics, University of Rochester What advice would you give to our scholarship recipients, who will be in
attendance at the Gala?
Education: Define your purpose (what is important to you), explore, create, have fun and let your intuition guide you
University of Arizona, Master, step by step. Seek mentors and coaches, for any aspect of your life, as cohesion overall will help you soar to
Optical Science (1990) higher heights.
University of Arizona, PhD,
Optical Science (1990) Articulate your vision for engineering in Rochester
See more on the website... Rochester is an international optics heaven. I wish for our community to find ways to come even closer
together with our different strengths and creativity to accelerate impact.
18 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER MARCH 2020 cover article