HOW TO BECOME A MAD SCIENTIST, IN 2 EASY STEPS

Dr. Lawrence Ames, Lockheed Martin
 
Dr. Ames will discuss his 30-year career at Lockheed Martin, where he has used physics and geometry on a wide range of projects and proposals, including communication satellites, the measurement of continental drift and atmospheric wind patterns, global warming, and exploration and defense, as well as conducting the only experiment ever done with LOTIS – Sunnyvale's largest optical collimator/test facility. He will discuss topics ranging from Sherlock Holmes to llamas, and how a summer job with the state highway department later helped Lockheed's robotic vision project: all part of the "tricks of the trade" in being a scientist – mad or otherwise.
In addition to various patents, Dr. Ames awards include: 2004 Willow Glen Resident "Volunteer of the Year", 2010 Bank of America "Neighborhood Local Hero", 2011 Santa Clara Co. League of Conservation Voters "Environmentalist of the Year", and 2012 Breathe California "Clean Air Award".
He is a community activist/environmentalist/preservationist/trail advocate in San José who has been involved in numerous projects, including:
•             Project Manager of Los Gatos Creek Urban Stream Restoration Project
•             Santa Clara County Parks Commissioner
•             Commissioner on the San Jose Neighborhoods Commission
•             Community communicator: founder and moderator of the 2,200-member Willow Glen "eList"
•             Advisor to CalTrans on the design of Freeway 237, to the City of San José on the sewage treatment plant redesign, and to the Santa Clara Valley Water District on the environment.
In his spare time, Dr. Ames is a Sr. Staff Physicist at Lockheed Martin.
 
Dr. Ames earned a B.S. in Math & Physics at University of Arizona (Tucson), an M.S. in Physics (thesis: "Infrared Emissivity of Optically Thin Films") and a Ph.D. in Experimental Nuclear Physics (thesis: "Natural Parity Levels in Oxygen 16") from University of Wisconsin (Madison).