Rees Mcnally Email & Phone Number

Boulder, Co, Us

Longmont, Colorado, United States

Algorithm development, system design, and early stage R&D. PI for several programs to develop new technologies. Focuses include neuromorphic cameras, high resolution imagery, active remote sensing, and model enhanced detection.

As the core of my PhD work in the group of professor Tanya Zelevinsky, I designed and built a new tabletop experiment to explore the quantum properties of ultracold molecules. This required the design and construction of 10+ laser systems, a 4 Kelvin cryostat, a custom high vacuum system, and numerous electrical sub-systems all controlled by a central lab computer. This machine enabled the first demonstration of laser cooling for hydride molecules.

I taught several introductory/intermediate lab courses in the physics department, and was the lead TA for the advanced undergraduate laboratory course. In this role I helped implement a new experiment able to measure the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (a relic left over from the Big Bang), from the rooftop of the physics department in the middle of Manhattan (!!!)I was also involved in "Physics Show" as a part of Girls Science Day at Columbia, and gave numerous lab tours to local high school students.

Worked as undergraduate research assistant in the group of Professor Jun Ye. In this role I helped build an atomic clock, which (until the middle of 2019) was the most accurate atomic clock in the world.

Worked as a summer intern in the physics division. I was responsible for finding ways to use ideas from linear programming (compressed sensing in particular) to improve the performance of atom-optic based gravity sensors. These sensors measured tiny gravitational attraction from objects around them, and were used to look for very dense material hidden inside (for example) a shipping container.

Lead a team of fellow students working on the Drag and Neutral Density Explorer (DANDE) satellite mission. This was a 50 kg spherical satellite built entirely by students, and launched by SpaceX in 2013 on the maiden voyage of the Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket. I was responsible for certifying the scientific payload prior to launch, and organizing the data processing chain for collected data on orbit.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Physics

My thesis work is on using lasers to cool molecules, and new ways to mine existing data sets to search for dark matter.

Master'S Degree, Physics

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Engineering Physics

With a minor minor in electrical engineering. Graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the top graduate for research award for my class.

Bachelors, Applied Mathematics