Etendue: Kenneth E. Moore
Welcome to Etendue, featuring interesting and accomplished individuals known for their leadership and contributions both with their careers and the College of Optical Sciences, in their own words. (For a similar view on the college’s best and brightest – our students – please check out Another Wavelength among our Students in the Spotlight.)
This week's subject is Kenneth E. Moore, Ph.D. 1991.
Where are you from?
I was born in Los Angeles and spent my entire childhood and college years there. I studied physics at Cal State University at Los Angeles and graduated with my B.S. in 1984. I worked in the aerospace industry for four years and moved to the University of Arizona in 1988, and graduated with my Ph.D. in 1991.
Who or what influenced your interest in optics?
I was attracted to physics because I found the idea of modeling reality, and making accurate predictions about the future, fascinating. I took an optics class at CSULA, and was astonished to learn that one could use a computer program to solve equations that cannot be solved analytically. I still recall the exact moment I was inspired to combine these fascinations and write lens design software.
Describe your career in 50 words or fewer.
I write software to model and design optical instruments. The software performs advanced computations, automates design and optimization, and can even aid in fabrication of the lenses. The software I wrote, Zemax, is very widely used today.
Describe your current job in 150 words or fewer.
I still work part-time for the Zemax company as a technical fellow, although I no longer own the company. I advise the engineers and scientists there on algorithms and theoretical aspects of optical modeling. The rest of my time is spent enjoying life! I regularly surf, snowboard and hike. I enjoy driving sports cars both on and off the race track. I also play bass in a rock 'n' roll band and spend much of my time trying to be a better musician.
Share your single best OSC experience.
Working with my adviser, professor George Lawrence. It may be cheating a little to call all my interactions with professor Lawrence a "single best experience," but his effect on my career was profound. He taught me to never be afraid to just go ahead and do something, and to never hesitate just because you don't know how to proceed. He had many clever tidbits of advice I still remember, and apply, to this day.
Why is staying involved with OSC important to you? How are you involved?
Those wonderful years at the OSC did more to shape the rest of my life than I ever would have imagined, and in the best possible way. The great success I have known, the fascinating career I have had and continue to have, and the opportunity to meet so many brilliant people — none of that would have happened if I had not gone to the college. And I would not have gone to the college if someone, somewhere, had not helped create and pay for the college and the financial support they offered me, as I had no means to pay for school at the time. It was a small seed that had so many positive consequences, not just for me, but for the optics industry as a whole. I strongly believe everyone that owes their success and career to the college should contribute to provide that opportunity for future generations of optical scientists. Education is like a loan; once we have used it for our own needs we have to pay it back. [Editor's note: Moore serves on OSC's development board, and he and his wife, Michele, have established three endowments for graduate and undergraduate scholarships at the College of Optical Sciences.]
Name one neat fact about you.
I never played an instrument, or surfed, or snowboarded, until I was 50. Now I do these things all the time. It is never too late to learn something new in life!
Photos from top: Moore wakeboarding on a lake; playing bass on stage; with Michele near Prescott, Arizona