Scott Sifferman Email & Phone Number

Austin, TX, US

• As Principal Investigator, secured over $1 million in funding with a proposal selection rate of 43%.LADAR/LiDAR technology
• Leading a Phase II NASA SBIR advanced wind LiDAR program as Principal Investigator.
• Technical lead on a debris and topography mapping LiDAR system for rocket landings.Microwave/RF systems development
• Engineering lead for a wide-band advanced radar and electronic countermeasures transceiver module.
• System design and modeling using CST Microwave Studio for a hypersonics communications platform.Business Development
• Technical lead on Navy SBIR Transition Program to ready a hypersonics communication system for Phase III transition.

Austin, TX, US

• Optical sensors design:
• Successfully led a Phase I SBIR advanced wind LiDAR program for NASA as Principal investigator.RF systems development:
• Designed microwave signal processing hardware for radar generator and test systems.
• Developed a Visual Basic tool comparing AWR Microwave Office component libraries with DXF drawings archives.

Austin, TX, US

• Systems Development:
• Technical proposal writing for Phase I and Phase II sensor systems programs funding.
• Designed microstrip interconnects for an advanced microwave circuit card assembly.

• Quantum cascade laser device fabrication and processing:
• Investigated aluminum nitride deposition processes for advanced mid-infrared quantum cascade laser devices.
• Performed systematic thermal annealing study for low-resistance metal contacts.

• Research focus: materials and device development toward the world’s first type-I diode laser operating at wavelengths beyond 4 µm.Additional responsibilities:
• Mentorship and technical guidance of doctoral students in experimental methods and optoelectronic device fabrication.
• Upgraded an optical spectrometer data acquisition system.

• Major research accomplishments:
• Longest wavelength (3.62 µm) type-I diode laser with an Al-free active region.
• Demonstrations of photoluminescence from type-I semiconductor materials with peak wavelengths up to 4.2 µm.
• First epitaxial growth of GaInAsSbBi alloys, incorporating up to 3% Bi.
• First demonstration of room-temperature photoluminescence from GaInAsSbBi alloys.
• Demonstrations of high-quality, droplet-free GaInAsSbBi alloys on GaSb.Contributions to laboratory and facilities development:

Nashville, TN, US

• Research and development:
• Designed, prototyped, and tested industrial-scale optical sensing equipment and object detection systems for automated recyclables sorting.
• Performed testing and troubleshooting of optical sensing systems used in materials identification and separation.
• Researched methods of glass identification and separation using ultraviolet fluorescence measurements.Product development and support:
• Interfaced with mechanical, electrical, and software engineers to design sorting systems for materials recovery facilities.
• Created quality control checklists for electronics production.

Fairfax, VA, US

• Optical characterization and measurement:
• Supervised the General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Photonics Laboratory and technical staff.
• Measured transmission degradation in diffractive optics and polymer waveguides exposed to simulated space radiation.
• Collaborated with external groups to perform radiation dose exposure tests on optical elements designed for spacebased applications.Systems integration and development:
• Collaborated with external teams to integrate photonics elements into a proposed space-based high-speed optical communications system.
• Designed and executed regression testing of a GPS RF receiver module in development, and reported the results.Optical signal processing:

• Facilities development:
• Supervised the General Dynamics C4 Systems Photonics Laboratory.
• Managed a capital expenditures budget of $7,000 per month to acquire equipment and expand lab testing capability.Systems integration:
• Calculated link budgets and size, weight, and power (SWaP) for satellite-based optical communication systems.
• Performed investigations of emerging photonics technology for high-speed optical communications.

Stanford, CA, US

• Primary research efforts:
• Performed experimental investigations on the operation of synchronously-pumped optical parametric oscillators.
• Developed mathematical models and simulations of synchronously-pumped optical parametric oscillator characteristics using MATLAB.Other responsibilities:
• Supervised the safe operation of a high-powered optical test bench for a photoacoustic imaging experiment.

Fairfax, VA, US

• Engineering design and testing:
• Maintained a LabVIEW test bench and wrote data analysis software using Perl and MATLAB for a space fuel cell research project.
• Designed the Thermal Interface Board for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope using Mentor Graphics Design Architect.Engineering support:
• Procured parts for satellite manufacturing based on engineer specifications.
• Assisted the Lead Engineer for Command and Data Handling on the NFIRE satellite.

Tempe, AZ, US

• Maintained email and web applications at Arizona State University.
• Provided IT technical support to faculty, staff, and students.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Electrical Engineering

Master Of Science, Electrical Engineering

Bsee, Electrical Engineering