Alumni Updates

Sean Haas

Physics & Astronomy, 2018

Sean Haas is currently working as a Senior Software Developer for LibSyn, Inc. He manages software for podcast statistics and large data sets. Sean also hosts and produces the Advent of Computing podcast (https://adventofcomputing.com/), a show that covers the history of computing with a special focus on untold or under-reported aspects of the story. Last year (2022) he was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Association of Computing Machinery's HUMAN'22 conference where he presented his research on the early origins of hypertext(https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3538882.3542792).

Ron L Anderson

Physics & Astronomy, 2002

Ron L. Anderson, Physics & Astronomy, 2002, is working at the US Naval Observatory working with earth orientation and orbital scientists. This is a great location for students hoping for intern experience or a possible career move.

Holly Leopardi

Physics & Astronomy, 2014

Holly Leopardi, 2014 Physics & Astronomy, recently won first place for her paper "Er:fiber frequency comb for synthesis of optical frequencies at the 10^-18 level," at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Photonics National Conference. Leopardi is currently a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, conducting research in optical frequency comb development at the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology with Scott Diddams. She is a student member of the IEEE, anda recipient of the 2016 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

William Bernt

Physics & Astronomy, 1995

William Bernt, 1995 Physics & Astronomy, found work immediately doing chemical analysis at Pacific Coast Laboratory. Bernt then moved to New York and found work and his new profession at Brookhaven Instruments Corp, where he ran the research and development lab for five years, sold their equipment for 10 years, and moved to technical sales for other instrumentation companies. He then started his own contract research lab, PCL, Inc. Bernt writes, “ HSU Physics gave me such good education and training. Thank you Bill Alexander, Prof. Thompson, Prof. Chin, Prof. Tam, and all the other great people at HSU Physics. I owe you and the department everything!”

Trevor Keiber

Physics & AstronomyAddtional Chemistry and Math Majors, 2006

Trevor Keiber, 2006 Physics & Astronomy, Chemistry, Math, is graduating in December 2015 with a Ph.D. in physics from UCSC, studying the structure of complex materials using X-ray spectroscopy. Keiber is currently seeking post-doctoral or assistant professor positions.

Max Brunsfeld

Physics & AstronomyMusic minor, 2011

Max Brunsfeld, 2011, Physics and Astronomy, moved to Oakland after graduating from HSU and worked as a software engineer in San Francisco for three years. Brunsfeld recently started working for GitHub, a company that makes tools for collaborative software development, and whose employees are distributed all over the world. Brunsfeld has since moved back to Arcata to raise a family.

Katie Lyn Sherry

Physics & Astronomy, 1996

Katie Lyn Sherry, 1996 Physics & Astronomy, will be attending medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biomedical Science. Sherry completed both post-baccalaureate and graduate programs to complete the prerequisites in biology and chemistry before entering medical school. Having gained admission at age 42, Sherry writes, "It's never too late to do what you should have done."

Eric W. Van Stryland

Physics & Astronomy, 1970

see website http://www.creol.ucf.edu/People/Details.aspx?PeopleID=316
Past President of the Optical Society of America (OSA), 2006, R.W. Wood Prize of OSA 2012
First Dean of a College devoted to Optics/Photonics in the US

Bret Comnes

Physics & Astronomy, 2011

Attending Humboldt State University and choosing to major in Physics has been one of the most important and beneficial decisions I have ever made. The faculty are fantastic educators, the curriculum is challenging and rewarding, it has intimate upper division class sizes, and there is ample opportunity to gain research experience if you want it.

I am currently getting started in the Doctoral Physics program at Portland State University.

Holly Edmundson

Physics & Astronomy, 2009

After graduating from HSU I went to grad school at University of Oregon where I got my Masters in Materials Science with an emphasis in Optics.

I got a job in the semiconductor industry. Humboldt's physics program gave me a major advantage when it came to E&M, electronics and lab experience all of which I used regularly in grad school and still use in my 'real job'.