Harlan Brothers is an inventor and mathematician based in Connecticut. He is the founder of Brothers Technology and currently works as the Director of Technology at The Country School in Madison.

Harlan holds five U.S. patents and has authored several research papers on one of the fundamental constants of nature, e.

He is currently doing original research developing the field of fractal music. In addition, he is working in affiliation with Yale University to develop fractal-based mathematics curricula. Harlan is also a performing jazz guitarist and composer, having studied at the Berklee College of Music. On weekends he often plays in the New Haven area with the 12-piece Latin jazz band, Sonido Unidad.

Gary Coyne
Scientific Glassblower, California State University, Los Angeles

As a kid Gary wanted to be a doctor, by high school he was considering a career in prosthetics, and by college he decided to be an oceanographer. However, while in college, he got into folk dancing for extracurricular activity and directed a Hungarian dance troupe. One of the dances he wanted the women to perform was a bottle dance where the women balance a bottle on their heads. The shape of an ethnic style of bottle is very similar to a one liter Erlenmeyer flask, but Erlenmeyer flasks have flat bottom's which don't lie on heads very well. Gary needed the flask's bottom "sucked in" a bit to better fit on the dancer's heads. Gary went to a chemistry professor, who had a small one-unit glass blowing class, and asked him whether it was possible to do what was needed. The two successfully sucked in the bottom of one Erlenmeyer flask, but, to use the equipment himself to make more, he had to formally take the one-unit class.

After several months of watching Gary work with glass, the professor suggested Gary go into professional glassblowing. After exploring what potential jobs were available to someone with a BS in Oceanography, Gary finished his degree and went straight into scientific glassblowing. That was over 30 years ago and he's been a professional scientific glassblower ever since.

Outside of glassblowing, Gary is married to Mara, an attorney, and has a son, Andy, a high school student. Aside from family activities, Gary is usually on his Mac or in the garage building things out of wood. Gary is also an author, he wrote "The Laboratory Companion," which provides broad information on the materials, equipment, and techniques used in the laboratory. The folk dancing is now all in the past.

Cindy Lee Duckert

Cindy has worked with school-aged children in science and technology for the past 22 years. While doing so, she collaborated with groups such as Scouts, 4-H, local museums, and local classrooms.

She home schooled both of her children, 15 year old Ben and 19 year old Daniel. Daniel is currently a junior in Physics at Lawrence University. Because of this experience, over the past 9 years she has been helping teachers and others learn how to DO science with kids.

Cindy has many professions, some of which she is currently involved - some not. She is an engineer, pilot, geology museum docent, educator, spouse and parent. Some of her hobbies include reading, cooking, and horse riding.

Cindy currently resides in Wisconsin with her family.

Jim Fredsti, Ph.D.

H. Pete Friedrichs

H. P. Friedrichs--Electrical engineer, author, and science enthusiast -- was born in Detroit Michigan. Having studied at Lawrence Technological University, he received a BSEE and spent many years designing software, electronics, and systems for the automotive industry. Later, he moved to Arizona where he developed electronics to trace the routes of automotive test vehicles, an effort that resulted in two U.S. patents.

In recent years, he has authored two books detailing some of these projects, The Voice of the Crystal, and Instruments of Amplification. Friedrichs is a licensed radio amateur, (AC7ZL), a member of the American Radio Relay League, The Xtal Set Society, and of course, the Society for Amateur Scientists.

At present, he lives in Tucson where he is engaged in the design and creation of software and electronics for the testing and validation of aerospace components. Friedrichs is married and has two children. His non-technical interests include history, hiking, composing and recording music, and writing short stories.

Lin Hartung Chambers, Ph.D.
NASA Langley Research Center, Atmospheric Sciences

Dr. Chambers is a research scientist in the Radiation and Aerosols Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. She received her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1991. Dr. Chambers has 15 years of experience in a variety of radiative transfer applications, including nonequilibrium flows and cloud inhomogeneity effects. She is a member of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Science Team. Research activities have focused on assessing the effect of inhomogenous clouds on satellite remote sensing and cloud/radiation parameterizations, as well as on better understanding the radiative properties of Tropical cloud systems.

Dr. Chambers is also director of the outreach component of the CERES effort, the Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) Project, and she is the Contrail Scientist for the GLOBE program.

Between 1996 and 1999, she was the Project Scientist for the Langley Research Center Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), which is responsible for data sets on clouds, radiation budget, aerosols, and tropospheric chemistry.

John Heller
Las Vegas Astronomical Society

John Heller is the NASA Night Sky Network coordinator for the Las Vegas Astronomical Society (LVAS). He has for formerly served as Vice President and Public Events Coordinator for the Society.

John has been an avid amateur astronomer since childhood, receiving his first telescope at age 12. Through the LVAS, he frequently conducts outreach events at National and State Parks and for non-profit groups. John and his wife Cindy pursue visual astronomy with an 18" Dobsonian telescope and a 102mm refractor. John and his family moved to Las Vegas in 1999 when he retired from 23 years in the United States Air Force. He is currently employed by Bechtel Nevada and works as Execution Support Manager at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Remote Sensing Laboratory.

John Lighton, Ph.D.
Sable Systems, Inc.

John Lighton was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in Cape Town. He earned a Ph.D. from UCLA in Whole-Organism Biology. He has won several awards, including a Fulbright, the UCLA Gold Shield Distinguished Scholar Award, the Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Award, the Lasiewski Prize and a Packard Foundation Fellowship.

After faculty appointments in Comparative Physiology at UCLA and the University of Zurich, John gave up full-time academia to focus more fully on his research and development role as Vice President of Sable Systems International. Sable designs and produces cutting-edge scientific instrumentation used at leading research institutions around the world.

He maintains an active research program as an Adjunct Professor at UNLV and is an author of over 70 research papers in peer-reviewed scientific literature.

John is married to Robbin Turner.

Scott Little

I have always enjoyed science, but not necessarily in a school setting. As a small child I would wait outside to see the trash truck and street cleaner just to watch their moving parts. I also loved studying animals, and would read any book on Nature I could get my hands on. My interest in science along with writing, history, and music continued through high school, even though my grades did not reflect it. After barely graduating I worked a variety of jobs, including truck driver, butcher, pool construction, building maintenance manager, warehouse manager, cook, and gardener.

I eventually received A. S. Degrees in Biology, Engineering, Physical Science, and Liberal Arts from Mt. SAC. I continued with a B.S. in Economics from Cal Poly Pomona, and finished a B.A. in Natural Science/Mathematics from Thomas Edison College. In addition, I have a Certificate in Computer Electronics from PeopleÕs College and completed a Project Management program at Cal Tech. In the Fall I am looking to pursue a MasterÕs in Systems Engineering/Management, and would like to continue with a PhD and other degrees in the future. My career is in my family material handling business, where I am a systems engineer and project manager. I am also the contractor, part-time I.T./systems administrator, and former inventory/billing manager and vehicle technician. Our company touches on so many different fields- structural/seismic, mechanical, electrical, computers, codes, etc. In the past I had a side business doing research and development for new ideas.

Forrest M. Mims III
Editor, The Citizen Scientist, Society for Amateur Scientists

Forrest is the most widely read electronics author in the world. His sixty books have sold over 7,500,000 copies and have twice been honored for excellence by the Computer Press Association.

His work has appeared in some 70 magazines and science journals, including Nature, Science, Scientific American, Popular Photography, New Scientist, Sky & Telescope, Popular Mechanics, Physics Today, Electronics, PC Magazine, and IEEE Spectrum.

Forrest's consulting clients have included the National Geographic Society, the National Teachers Association, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. In 1993, he was named a Laureate in the Rolex Awards for Enterprise for his efforts in establishing a global ozone-measuring network that used instruments of his own design.

Today, Forrest simultaneously carries out a variety of scientific and technical projects. He recently worked with the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin to compare measurements of atmospheric water vapor made from satellites and the surface. He is also a co-principle investigator for GLOBE, a network of 8000 schools in 83 countries that involves students in scientific research projects.

John Powell
Founder and President, JP Aerospace

For the past 25 years as President of JP Aerospace John Powell has been a leading innovator in low cost space systems. His work has included a wide variety of development projects as well as flight systems including orbital transfer vehicles, modular micro-satellites, high altitude balloons and airships and space bound ping pong balls.

JP is also a father, pilot and submarine builder. He lives in Placerville, California.

Jonathan Price, Ph.D.
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

Dr. Jonathan G. Price is the State Geologist and Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, a research and public service unit of the University of Nevada. Jon earned a bachelor's degree in geology and German from Lehigh University and master's and Ph.D. degrees in geology from the University of California, Berkeley. His geological career has included experience with industry, teaching, research, and government. He has worked in copper, iron, and uranium exploration and mining (with the Anaconda Company and U.S. Steel Corporation); taught undergraduate and graduate geology courses and supervised graduate theses (at Bucknell University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Nevada, Reno); and conducted and directed research at state geological surveys (in Texas and Nevada). In 1988 he became the Nevada State Geologist. Jon has conducted research and published in such areas as economic geology (metals and industrial minerals), igneous petrology, geochemistry, geologic mapping, land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal, and earthquake, radon, and mercury hazards.

During 1993 and 1994 Jon was on assignment to the National Research Council as Staff Director of the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. Since 1995 Jon has served on four National Research Council committees that wrote reports on issues related to mining, mineral resources, and geology. He currently serves on federal advisory committees for the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey. He was the 1997 President of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, the 2000-2001 President of the Association of American State Geologists, the 1998-2002 President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Western States Seismic Policy Council, and the 2003 President of the Society of Economic Geologists. He is currently the Secretary of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council and the Chair of the Nevada Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee.

John Shane, Ph.D.
McCrone Research Institute

Heather Smith
Director of Program Development, LABRats, Society for Amateur Scientists

Heather is the Director of Program Development for LABRats at SAS. She joined the Society for Amateur Scientists in October 2003 to take LABRats from a revolutionary concept on paper to reality. She studied Molecular Biology as an undergraduate at Colgate University in upstate New York, and has a Masters in Genetics from Harvard. After graduate school, she worked as a strategic management consultant for biotechnology, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies for five years.

Mark Streitman
Society for Amateur Scientists, New Jersey Chapter

Mark is the Founder and President of the New Jersey Chapter of SAS. He has been passionate about science since he first discovered the Gemini Space Missions as a young boy.

He is a graduate of Rutgers University and has worked in various industries as a software engineer. Much of his work has been with diamond manufacturers, plastics manufacturers, and utility companies.

Mark is now running his own company and is currently designing a science experiment for the education market that is SAS related.

Alanah Woody, Ph.D.
Nevada Rock Art Foundation

Dr. Woody is the Collections Manager in the Anthropology Program at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, NV. She is also Executive Director of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation. Dr. Woody received a BA & MA in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Southampton (England). The title of her dissertation was How to do Things with Petroglyphs: The rock art of Nevada.

Steve Hansen
MKS Instruments

Steve Hansen is probably best known to amateur scientists as the editor and publisher of of the vacuum technology newsletter, the Bell Jar, which he founded in 1992. The purpose of the Bell Jar is to make vacuum technology understandable and accessible to amateurs and educators who may want to explore vacuum for its own sake or may need a practical understanding of vacuum to pursue other investigations. Steve's professional background includes many years in the semiconductor industry. Currently he is technical services director for MKS Instruments where he has developed training equipment and materials for technical colleges. He also heads up MKS' US Service Organization. Steve received his BSEE degree from Northeastern University in 1972 and is the holder of two patents, neither of which are worthy of further mention. Steve lives in Amherst, NH with his wife Christine. They have two adult children who are home often enough to preclude any possibility of converting their rooms into additional lab space.

Monty Robson
Director of the John J. McCarthy Observatory

Monty Robson is the President of the Western Connecticut Chapter, Society for Amateur Scientists and Director of the John J. McCarthy Observatory. He is a father and a husband and has just retired as a senior captain from American Airlines.

Ana holds a BS from Princeton University in Psychology, with a specialization in Visual Perception, a Masters degree in Urban Policy and Planning and partial PhD studies in Political Theory from the New School, NYC. She has worked as professional journalist and museum administrator. She donates art and proceeds to coral reef conservation programs and stray dog charities. Her Academy sponsors free art lessons for children from immigrant and low-income families at the Academy, and she serves on the Highland Park Arts Commission. Ana loves dogs, dancing, swimming, sailing and sport flying, backyard astronomy and trekking across arid lands.