Ken Kriesel
PSL Mechanical Engineer

Ken's areas of expertise include:

• Design & development of custom research equipment
• Design for extreme environments such as UHV systems, near-Earth orbit, or the Antarctic
• Design of grazing incidence grating monochromators
• Design of other precision mechanical, electromechanical or optomechanical systems
• Design of x-ray shielding
• Design & analysis of motion control systems, robotics and telescopes
• Redesign for manufacturability
• Operation of instrumentation (such as machinists' measuring tools, meters, oscilloscopes, interferometers, transducers, transits)
• Computer software (VAX/VMS, MS & PCDOS, MS Windows 3.1 to NT Server & XP Pro, Linux, CAD (including Autodesk AutoCAD & Inventor), MS Office, Fortran, C, Perl, Basic, Winbatch; Assembler on various processors including PDP-11, 6502, 808x/80x86; html)
• Computer hardware systems (Vax, uVax, Vaxstation, PC, AT, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium Pro, PentiumII & III)
• Technical writing and documentation
• Systems and network administration
• Network design
• Computer & network security
• Project Engineering
• Proposal Preparation

Ken has used his skills and expertise to:

• Establish, use and upgrade CAD capability
• Establish CNC capability
• Establish & upgrade an NT domain, file server, and network backup method
• Establish an NT backup domain controller and ftp, web and gopher servers
• Automate conversion of all CAD output from one system to another (approx. 30 person-years effort ported)
• Convert PC networking environment from Pathworks to Windows
• Extend and update PSL's web site
• Convert PSL's technical computing network from VAXes and terminals on a single 10 Mbps network to fast Windows PCs on a switched & routed 10/100/1000 Mbps network
• Improve the security, speed and availability of the computer network
• Configure, document & test specialized network hardware (filtering bridges, switches, routers, firewalls, wireless access points, wireless bridges)
• Perform long-range (five to fifteen years) planning of computing environment
• Establish and maintain antivirus measures, updated as cost, threat and vendor environments changed
• Add & support new infrastructure capabilities such as digital photography, guest network, wireless, network filtering, VPN (by request or on own initiative)
• Program automated firewall log analysis in Perl and NT command language
• Program real time robotic axis motion control in assembler (PDP-11)
• Perform or contribute to hiring, training or supervising mechanical engineers, drafters and IT staff
• Design for unusual requirements. A retrofit to MST required high strength insulators for bolts. Another project, for retrofit of an MRI machine, required absolutely no conductive or magnetic materials be used.
• Assist in design and fabrication of CMS End cap portion of the Compact Muon Solenoid detector for CERN, particularly in muon chamber frames and manifolds.
• Perform tasks combining aspects of mechanical engineering, physics, electronics, computer programming and data acquisition and analysis. For example, the calibrating of a wide angle prism for use with an interferometer required applying knowledge of programming languages, MathCad, heat transfer, engineering mechanics, fluid mechanics, and optics.
• Co-design and develop the Xray Microbeam. Project engineer for the structural, vacuum, modular xray & magnetic shielding, gas, water, thermal, and alignment systems. Also responsible for aspects of site preparation, machine safety and calibration. Acquire and develop software to accomplish project goals.
• Perform mechanical design and supervise construction of WHAM siderostat & consult on maintenance
• Market, design, manage and conclude numerous other projects comprising millions of dollars. Among these projects were certain PSL SGMs, GASP, critical parts of the WUPPE space shuttle borne telescope, etc.
• Provide technical assistance to numerous other projects, including ICDS EHWD.

In his current PSL position Ken uses his specialized skills in:

• Designing mechanical systems for custom research instruments
• Marketing PSL mechanical design and fabrication services
• Acting as IT Manager for the PSL technical group
• Acting as Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation Products Manager