I suspect I don't really need to write much; if you're in the vacuum world, at least in the UK, you've probably come across me at some point! I started off working on the UK Ion Propulsion project at AEA Technology before specialising in the vacuum technology itself. Sales is a great way to learn about the multitude of vacuum applications in the modern world, and today I work on everything from space propulsion (including rockets!) to nuclear fusion, casting super alloys to packing the meat on the supermarket shelves or moving sweets round factories! I've been fortunate enough to be able to guide my career towards creating innovative solutions to improve the efficiency and performance of companies in as many of these applications as I can understand rather than just concentrating on the sale. It's a good place to be.OK, so it seems you can't hide the dates of your career so, yes, I'm no spring chicken. But all the more reason to make sure that I take the opportunity to make the last dozen or so years as productive and innovative as possible. I ran Oxford Vacuum Science as a hobby for nearly 20 years but due to my brother's ill health (he designed all the electronics and wrote the firmware), a fabulous local machine shop being bought by their biggest customer, and our bespoke transformer supplier closing, that's come to an end. (That said, the evaporator itself is a unique technology that no-one else seems to have done, so if you're into thermal evaporation and want to pick up the baton...) And with such a change comes the opportunity to reflect and reassess.Meanwhile I've brought a lot to Busch including, over the last couple of years, a tool to far better understand the dynamics of complex central vacuum systems. In metallurgy I designed a filtration system to protect dry screw pump / roots booster combinations with minimum impact on performance. My design to better than halve the pumping speed required for electric propulsion testing is not yet tested, but helping with my daughter's further maths homework has suggested ways to better model it!So while I am in no way desperate to move on from Busch, if you're trying to make the world a better place but need some real, creative vacuum innovation to make it work, perhaps we should talk.