Donn M. Silberman

Bio

As many of us do, I wear more than one hat, so during the day I am a Sr. Applications and Sales Engineer for PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. helping customers with nano and micro positioning systems. It is quite exciting, as many of our customers are from leading research universities (including the UofA), government laboratories and corporate firms doing work in many high tech fields including optical sciences, semiconductors, astronomy, bio – life sciences, telecommunications and much more.

But the ‘work’ I am most proud of is that which I do as my hobby – science education outreach through the Optics Institute of Southern California. Just last month we held our 5th Annual Optricks Days event at the Discovery Science Center. Some of my personas I take on during our programs are the Optricks Wizard, Dr. Donn, The Wizard of Light and the Hogwarts School of Optricks Headmaster. I recently became an Optricks Wizard, as I now have three Optricks Apprentices, and Dr. Murty, The Wizard of Light (our Optricks Outreach Mentor) said I could (I was the original Optricks Apprentice!!)

You can see a recent photo (March 2008) of me in my Wizard costume and an older photo (March 2006) of me as the Optricks Apprentice.

You can read my bio online.

There is also a very nice interview done by a Pepperdine University student. (I am an alumnus from there too!!)

Read about a "Suitcase Full of Optricks Help's Math, Science go Down" published on www.Photonics.com

Read about Some Optricks in Southern California in OSA's Optics & Photonics News

I also serve as the Assistant Director of the CACT @ ATEP and you can see a cool photo gallery that our webmaster just put up. Here we teach optics fabrication and testing, optical instrument design and introduction to optics, lasers and fiber optics.

There are still professors of mine at the UofA, like Bill Bickel an Johnny Hsieh in the Physics Department who I still keep in contact with regularly and it was these guys that really got me off to a great start at the UofA. Johnny got me teaching and nominated me for the honors program!! Bill was my academic advisor, Society of Physics Students Faculty Advisor and spectroscopy instructor.