Kendra Centracco Email & Phone Number

Portland, Or, Us

Portland, Or, Us

Us

Wilsonville, Oregon, Us

Hillsboro, Oregon, Us

Project manager, product development of new fiber optic sensors, optical physics consultant, algorithm development, test engineer

Hillsboro, Oregon, Us

Houghton, Mi, Us

Developing of a photoacoustic spectrometer to measure absorption of visible light directly from suspended atmospheric aerosol. Lead a group of undergraduate students to build a current driver to reduce noise and increase portability. The instrument uses a Labview code which I have modified slightly to suit my specific design. Key laboratory techniques developed during my work with the photoacoustic spectrometer include laser alignment using mirrors and 3-dimensional stages, characterization of beam profiles using a knife edge technique, circuit soldering, electronic noise filtering, coding with labview, photodiode calibration, scattering calibration, absorption calibration, and optical hardware cleaning.

Houghton, Mi, Us

Taught introductory physics labs for engineering majors. We help first and second year engineering students develop problem solving skills and understanding of physical processes through experimentation. I received excellent reviews from my students and supervisors because of my high energy and strong ability to communicate and explain complex processes in a simpler way.

The Pico Mountain Observatory is located in the Azores Islands, 1500 km west of Lisbon. The station is located 2.3 km above sea level above the marine boundary layer. The purpose is to measure gasses and aerosol which travel through the free troposphere for long time periods. We analyze the optical properties and consequentially the radiative forcing of aerosol layers. During the 2013 and 2014 summer seasons I worked on the Pico Mountain Observatory as part of a grant sponsored through the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. My duties included maintaining and repairing instrumentation on the mountain. Time was split between working as a team working as the only/lead scientist. Other essential duties were report writing and communication with lead PI, power cable repair, instrument calibration, sample changing and computer hardware repair. It is necessary to work without communication at times, long hours and problem solve with limited resources. The job requires loads up to 45 lbs to be carried by backpack to the top of the station which is a 3.5 km hike with a vertical climb of about 1.5 km. Instruments we operate: Ecotech Aurora 300 nephelometer, Ecotech high volume samplers, Magee Scientific 7 wavelength aethalometer, MetOne particle counters, sun photometer, gas chromatographer, particle sampler for SEM and TEM analysis, anemometer and CO monitor.

Houghton, Mi, Us

A multi disciplinary cloud chamber was installed at Michigan Technological University in order to study physical cloud processes. http://www.mtu.edu/research/archives/magazine/2015/stories/cloud-control/I worked to develop a prototype for a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer for measuring water vapor in the chamber. The prototype developed employed a 3 micron tunable diode which measured carbon dioxide. I used Labview to write the software to run the instrument.

Traverse City, Michigan, Us

I worked in the tutoring center where I met with a student for the duration of the semester twice a week. I developed lesson plans and long term goals to help students establish better study skills.

Head server in a fast paced bar and restaurant where I consistently had top sales records. My responsibilities included training in new staff and ensuring the business was prepared for $10K and higher sales days. The job required keeping a level head and positive attitude in a high stress environment, excellent organization and multi-tasking for myself and other staff members.

Master’S Degree, Applied Physics

Bachelor Of Science, Physics And Mathematics