Charles earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Pitt in 2011.
In his own words:
Since graduating in August 2011, I first spent a semester as a postdoc in Electrical Engineering, where I was the lecturer for Electromagnetics and working with MCSI. Then I took a position at JDS Uniphase (now Lumentum) in January 2012, where I was a Sr. Optical Engineer and designed lithium niobite optical modulators (100 Gb/s, 400 GB/s) and phase modulators for fiber gyroscopes. During this time my work I produced three patents.
After 18 months I moved into a Staff WaferFab Engineer role where I was in a production engineering role to improve yields for the devices I previously designed. I then moved back into R&D and was the technical lead for a 100 GB/s modulator for metro applications. I later moved to Coherent-Nufern, where I was a Principal Engineer overseeing an optical components lab and managed three technicians.
And finally, for the past two years I have been an Engineering Specialist at General Dynamics Electric Boat where I am working on IR&D (Independent Research and Development), technology investigation, university outreach with NIUVT (National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology), and assisting companies with SBIR funding as it related to the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine force.
My time in MCSI was important as it allowed me to work with engineers from other fields, which is something I’ve had to do since I entered industry. Working with ChemEs, MatSci, MechEs, Physics, technicians, etc.