About Me
Joseph James Radler
(Or “J.” to his friends.)
Current Professional Interests
I currently work as an independent electronics design consultant with roles encompassing several different areas of technical development including — but not limited to:
- Mixed analog-digital hardware design.
- Analog signal conditioning circuitry for sensors and signal generators.
- Precision analog sensor frontend design.
- Industrial control systems software.
- Embedded digital control systems and firmware for industrial devices.
- Digitally controlled routing and manipulation of analog signals.
- Control panel design and human interaction systems.
- Test jigs and automations for hardware design and manufacture.
- Printed circuit board (PCB) layouts.
- High output power analog circuits (audio power amplifiers, ultrasonic drivers and the like.)
In previous professional roles after graduate school, he also worked extensively with:
- Time-Frequency (Fourier) analysis.
- Digital Signal Processing for sensor conditioning and pattern-matching.
- Circuit phase-response analysis.
- Novel methods for multivariate data visualization.
- Statistics for signal integrity validation.
- Isolated analog sensor frontend designs.
- Data management schemas (e.g., SQL, HDF5).
- Automated data cleaning and management algorithms.
- Anomaly detection algorithms.
Additional Professional Interests & Aspirations
- Learning
Julia,Clojure(just because it looks compelling), and working on interfaces with quantum computing and cloud systems. - Quantum computing and its applications toward challenging computational chemistry problems.
- The various representations of quantum systems with an eye for how these might be implemented using tools like
Julia, quantum computers, and geometric algebra. - Always picking up more useful software carpentry skills like shell scripting and keeping my data pipelining skills sharp!
A (Very Abbreviated) Biography
J. grew up in various apartments in the North and Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Despite being highly mobile, it was a home full of books, music, films, and art supplies. Taking to the arts, literature, and science all at once with gusto at a very young age, he wanted to be everything from a physician to an astronaut; a painter to a professional guitarist; a quiet literary mind and a rockstar.
Strangely enough, after self-studying foreign languages as well as various techniques with many different artistic media in high school, he fell in love with chemistry and physics thanks to an excellent team of teachers at Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Mr. Ken Indeck taught him that he had a knack for geometry and made it enjoyable, priming J.’s mind for later endeavors. Mr. Al Kane taught him that he – yes, the weird art kid – could do physics, and that he wasn’t just teaching the coffee pot at the back of the room. Then, Mr. Jim Behymer taught him how truly enjoyable mastering matter could be in AP Chemistry. Everyone else thought he was going to go to art school…
J. then applied to a number of universities for chemistry, eventually attending Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana for a dual-major track in Chemistry and Materials Science Engineering.
Things got rough once he got there, however. He was kicked out of Purdue twice for academic deficiency in a three year span, primarily due to deficiencies in mathematics and computer programming courses. Eventually, he found a highly visual/spatial learning style and used sketches, colors, and detailed drawings in his studies of multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and even C programming – succeeding at these subjects at last while studying during the summer months at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois.
His confidence in mathematics restored, he completed an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Chemical Technology at Ivy Tech Community College of Lafayette, Indiana. Upon acceptance for reentry to Purdue University, J. spent the next two years studying inorganic, physical, and computational chemistries. He self-studied much of the advanced mathematics required for quantum mechanics and became enamored with quantum computational chemistry.
Upon graduating with his Bachelor’s of Science, J. worked as a laboratory technician and manager at the Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory (PRIME Lab) for three years – dissolving rocks, testing water, optimizing processing techniques, and fixing laboratory equipment. During this time, he pursued non-degree courses in advanced inorganic chemistry, computational science, and physics, subsequently applying to graduate school after graduate school. Finally, upon striking up a delightful correspondence with Prof. Xiaosong Li at the University of Washington, J. applied and was accepted to pursue a PhD. in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry with Prof. Li’s research group in the Department of Chemistry.
Once there in his role as a Research Assistant, he began sharpening his skills with high-performance computing, scripting, job automation, data parsing, time-frequency analyses, data visualization, scientific visualization, quantum chemistry, and even more applied mathematics. As a member of Prof. Li’s Group he completed his Master’s of Science, authored a publication, co-authored two others, extended semi-empirical electronic structure methods for studying ultrafast light-matter interactions, and presented four original research posters at various conferences and symposia. He also met a number of very good, dear friends along the way!
First as a Teaching Assistant, then later as a full-time Teaching Associate at the University of Washington, J. also had the privilege of teaching and tutoring hundreds of General Chemistry students concepts ranging from quantum mechanics and chemical thermodynamics through various learning and visualization techniques as well as (the ever important) laboratory safety culture.
At the moment, he has been working in the electronics hardware space since 2019 and is intently studying various programming languages, embedded digital technologies, electronic hardware design, and power electronics so he can build the devices and tools he has been dreaming up.
Other Scientific Interests
J. also has a deep interest in making the strange structures of quantum mechanics more accessible for everyone and devotes a great deal of thought to various representations of quantum phenomena. He also is very curious about everything having to do with quantum mechanics, quantum information theory, mathematics, as well as computer hardware and software. Some of his recent side-projects have explored:
- Disability resources and tools for dyslexic and dyscalculic people pursuing and working in STEM research roles
- Quantum Dynamics simulation
- Interpretations of quantum mechanics
- Topology
- Abstract Algebras
- Geometric Algebras
- Graph Theory
- Braid and Knot Theories
- Quantum computing
- Novel visualization techniques for quantum dynamical processes
- Fun templates in \LaTeX
- Various programming languages
- Mathematical pedagogy
- and various combinations of these subjects!
Other General Interests
J. has a number of other interests outside of scientific research and technical development. He enjoys acrylic, oil, and watercolor painting, drawing, and various other two-dimensional forms of visual art. Lately he has been taking an interest in “urban sketching” with fountain pens and ink washes. He has a budding home recording studio where he plays guitar, synthesizers, piano (badly), and sings.
A major interest is designing and building audio effects circuits like guitar pedals and synthesizers. This hobby eventually morphed into professional roles, in fact!
J. also really enjoys wrenching on machines, and has a passion for German automobiles — although he enjoys hacking and modding all sorts of machines (computers, cars, motorcycles, household appliances…)
He also speaks German, Spanish, and Russian haltingly (but can read Cyrillic just fine) and is studying French and Luxembourgish more intensely. Other languages he has been studying recently and with which he has had some success in conversations include Portuguese and Mandarin. He also has a very basic grasp on Korean and Hungarian.
He currently lives by the Puget Sound in a cozy little home along a busy street surrounded by fragrant rhododendron, cypress trees, and salt water. This cozy house is shared with his brilliant wife, two fuzzball cats, and a few rooms full of books and instruments.
