| Experience |
8/2012–present |
Western Digital Corporation,
San Jose, CA
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Engineering Director, Advanced Recording Characterization
- Set up and execute plan to develop technology for a disk drive based on heat assisted magnetic recording
- Manage cross-functional team to provide direction and support to head, media and drive teams for heat assisted magnetic recording
- Improve understanding the recording physics of heat assisted magnetic recording
- Develop algorithms and standardized testing capabilities
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7/2010–7/2012 |
Western Digital Corporation,
San Jose, CA
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Engineering Director, Advanced Recording Characterization
- Develop characterization methods to improve understanding of magnetic recording systems, such as heat assisted magnetic recording
- Lead talented team of 7 engineers (recording physics, characterization, electronics, hardware, software)
- Extend life-time of perpendicular magnetic recording by implementing and testing new concepts
- Manage spinstand characterization laboratory
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10/2007–6/2010 |
Western Digital Media,
San Jose, CA
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Sr.
Principal Engineer, R&D Advanced Magnetic Recording
- Support media operations for staging media in new products
- Investigate magnetic recording physics of perpendicular and discrete track media
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1998–10/2007 |
Hitachi San Jose Research Center (formerly
IBM Research, Storage Systems & Technology and Science & Technology),
San Jose, CA
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Research
Staff Member
- Investigated magnetic recording physics of longitudinal, perpendicular and
thermally assisted recording system, and patterned media
- Performed areal density demonstrations in close collaboration with head,
media and modeling groups
- Developed and improved instrumentation, software
- Mentored recording engineer, lead several postdoctoral fellows
- Used the following instrumentation: spinstand, disk drive, magnetic force
microscopy, micromagnetic modeling, static write/read tester
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1996–1998
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IBM Research, Science
& Technology, San Jose, CA |
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Postdoctoral Fellow
- Investigated dynamic coercivity, thermal stability of recording media
- Designed and built static write/read tester
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| Education |
1991–1996 |
Physics Dept., University
of Basel, Switzerland |
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- Ph.D. Thesis on “Investigation of High-Tc Superconductors using Low
Temperature Magnetic Force Microscopy” (Advisor: Prof. H.J.
Güntherodt) in 1995
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude
- Built low-temperature magnetic force microscope, imaged vortices in High-Tc
Superconductors
- Master’s degree (Major: Physics, Minors: Chemistry, Mathematics)
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| Additional Qualifications |
- Extensive experience in laboratory automation (software and hardware)
- Excellent programming skills (MatLab, LabView, VB, Java, C, TCL)
- Courses in project management / leadership
- Languages: English (excellent), German (native), French (fluent)
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| Publications & Patents |
70
publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, 1 book chapter, 23 issued
patents |