Dr. Gary Pajer
Princeton Satellite Systems
Thursday, February 14th from 11:30am-12:30pm
SCP-317
Abstract: Dr. Gary Pajer will describe his colorfully varied career in physics. His first job was as a junior scientist (with only a bachelor’s degree), a job at which he made significant contributions to the field, fabricating a first-of-its-kind photonic device. After reaching the limit of what he could contribute, he went off to graduate school obtaining his PhD. Subsequently, he started on a path that has taken him to a number of industrial positions as well as a decade as a university professor. Aside from his main career path, Dr. Pajer has also worked as a consultant, private tutor, and he continues to teach a the university level as an adjunct professor. In all cases, his jobs were engaging and challenging. His latest challenging, as a staff scientist at Princeton Satellite Systems, is to design an optical navigation system for spacecraft, akin to an optical version of GPS.