Résumé of...

Tel: +1.403.220.7913
Fax: +1.403.282.5016
WWW: http://www.phys.ucalgary.ca/~trondsen/

"Computing, Electronics, Science, Hobbyism"

Areas of Expertise, Experience, and Capabilities

• Remote sensing, space plasma physics
• Academic and technical writing
• Scientific data analysis
• Charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging systems
• Optical and electro-optical systems, low light-level imaging
• Knowledge of RF systems and circuits, wireless (radio) communications
• Radar techniques and spectral analysis
• Scientific programming
• Image/data acquisition, processing, and analysis
• Control theory, computer interfaces to real-world, some real-time software programming
• Basic digital and analog electronic design, microprocessors, embedded applications
• Functional definition and system design of scientific instrumentation
• Space flight systems, radiation environment
• Internet proficient since 1987
• Video editing and DVD authoring
• Graphic design and photography
• Arctic winter field-work (northern Canada, northern Norway, Spitsbergen)
• Works well under stress, in hazardous conditions where improvisation may be required
• Good survival skills: arctic/tropics, armed/unarmed

Personal Data

• DoB: September 13
• Sex: Male
• Visa Status: Landed Immigrant, Canada. Citizen of the Kingdom of Norway
• Language Skills: English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Norse
• Driver's Licenses: Alberta Class 5 license and EU International Driver's License
• Additional Info: Armed Forces security clearance. Excellent health. Non-smoker

Education

1998
Ph.D. Cosmic Geophysics (GPA 4.0)
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Developed a portable intensified imaging system (optics ,electronics, hardware, software) and applied it to auroral studies in the Canadian arctic, publishing findings in refereed scientific journals.

1988
M.Sc. Applied Physics/Electrical Engineering
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Developed a novel, practical method for determining signal losses (the so-called system constant) in waveguides and filters for calibration purposes at the UHF/VHF European Incoherent Scatter Radar Facility (EISCAT) near Tromsø, Norway. The method relies on precise ionospheric plasma-line frequency measurements using a charge-coupled device based spectrum analyzer. This is a good example of how scientific insight can greatly aid in solving traditional "engineering problems." One is tempted to say that an engineer without a thorough background in the physical sciences is at a disadvantage. The same goes for an experimental scientist without a certain background in electrical engineering. At Norwegian universities, the classical (North-American) distinction between "applied physics" and "electrical engineering" is generally not made.

1986
B.Sc. Physics
University of Tromsø, Norway

Some Additional Courses...

• Electronics and Wireless Communication Technologies (Advanced Class Amateur Radio License), Norwegian Armed Forces, Fall 1983
• Electric Guitar, 1996-1997.
• Indian Cooking, 1998.
• Japanese Woodcut (Moku Hanga), 2002.

• Unix (BSD and System V; Linux, IRIX, HP-UX, AIX, RISC/os, Ultrix)
• Linux system administration. Distros: SuSE, Red Hat, Debian, Fink, Cygwin
• X11R6, XFree86; Motif; mwm, fvwm, fvwm95-2, AfterStep window managers
• KDE and Gnome Desktop Environments
• Mac OS X (Jaguar and up), fink
• VMS, OpenVMS Alpha/AXP, MS-DOS, MS-DOS/Windows 3.1, Windows 95 to 2000 Professional
• IBM-PC and compatible, MIPS and Silicon Graphics (SGI) O2 workstations R5KSC IRIX 6.5.18f
• Familiar with IBM-PC hardware and configuration, TCP/IP, modern networking techniques, ssh/ssl
• Experience with Assembly Language going back to 1980 (Z-80, 6502, and 6809 uP)
• Trained in C, Pascal, Fortran, BASIC programming languages
• Programming MS-Windows API (event-driven) applications using C++
• csh, tcsh, ksh, bash, subshells, awk, sed, perl/Tk, python, and PostScript programming
• Unix shell programming, C Unix environment, I/O, Processes, Signals, IPC, Semaphores, Sockets
• Interactive Data Language (IDL) since 1989, IDL Widgets since mid-1995
• CADKey computer aided design package
• WinLens optical design package
• LaTeX/LaTeX2e typesetting application (markup language), FrameMaker 4.0, vi/vim
• ApplixWare Office Package under Linux (Words, Presents, Graphics)
• MagicPoint and MS Powerpoint
• Microsft Access 2000
• Adobe Acrobat
• HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and extensions, CGI/perl
• Maple/Mathematica
• Satellite tracking and ephemerides software (commercial and self-authored)
• A variety of image processing packages, incl. Matrox Imaging Library under C++
• GPS-locked synchronization of instrumentation, SMPTE-VITC time coding.
• Network Time Protocol (NTP v3.5 and v4) - GPS Stratum 0 server
• Various signal processing and singular spectrum analysis packages, Wavelet Analysis
• Several graphic design packages: GNU Gimp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe ImageReady, Adobe GoLive
• Adobe Premiere 6.0+, Pinnacle DV500 Plus, SGI MovieMaker, Digital Video (DV, IEEE-1394)
• DVD authoring: Pinnacle Impression, TMPGEnc
• Internet-proficient since 1987; USENET, Gopher, Archie, WAIS, World Wide Web
• List of some favorite tools

Scholarships, Awards, Recognition

• Faculty of Science Fellowship for Physics and Astronomy 2000 (CAD 6,000)
• University Technologies International Inc. Fellowship in Science for 1999-2000 (CAD 15,000)
• Norwegian Space Centre's Scholarship for young Norwegian research scientists working abroad, October 1989 (NOK 50,000)
• Outstanding Student Presentation award received for an invited talk at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 1997, San Francisco, in a section on Alfvénic structures and their relation to the discrete aurora
• Dr. Trondsen is listed in the International Who's Who (Millennium Edition)

Related Experience

1999 - 2003
Postdoctoral Associate, Imagin Specialist
University of Calgary, Institute for Space Research

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1997 - 1998
Research Associate, Imaging Specialist
University of Calgary, Institute for Space Research

• Principal Investigator on the The Portable Auroral Imager project.
• Research Scientist/Programmer, Canadian Space Agency's CANOPUS Project.
• Technical consultant/liaison on Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE), the first NASA medium-class satellite explorer (MIDEX) project.
• Participating Scientist on the IMAGE project.
• Participating scientist on the NORSTAR project.

1993 - 1996
Research Engineer
University of Calgary, Institute for Space Research

• Responsible for the design, implementation, and calibration of a compact and portable imaging system that is now being used for high-resolution video imaging of the Northern Lights. The system is based on state-of-the-art intensified charge-coupled device video camera technology and high-resolution video recording technology. The design was dictated by requirements as to angular and temporal resolution and light-gathering power given by scientific objectives. Made several field-trips into the Canadian arctic to apply the imager to auroral studies in conjunction with instrumentation permanently installed at the site. Data were subsequently analyzed, and several important findings published in international scientific journals.

1988 - 1993
Research Scientist
The Research Council of Norway

• Designed, implemented, and characterized a computer controlled digital all-sky camera system for the observation of the Northern Lights from the Ramfjordmoen research station outside Tromsø, Norway. Wrote all real-time control software as well as a complete image processing suite.
• Took part in the design of the AURIO visible and ultra-violet auroral CCD imagers that is to fly on the European Space Agency's Polar Platform, part of the then U.S.-commissioned Space Station Freedom project.
• Participated in the preliminary design phase of the ultra-violet auroral imagers on the Swedish satellite Freja that was successfully launched in October 1992.
• Assisted in the design of the Polar Camera (PoCa), a set of imagers for ground based observations of the aurora in polar cap regions (Ellesmere Island). This work included research into image compression algorithms and recommendation of preferred option based on certain design criteria, writing low-level software handling data communication between computer and cameras, writing an ephemerides software package, as well as doing the complete mechanical design of the camera units using the CADKey Computer Aided Design package (under the SGI IRIX O/S).
• Designed an electronic testbed intended for the development of microprocessor, transputer, and charge-coupled device clocking applications.

1987 - 1988
Research Assistant
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Operated and maintained an ionospheric "Partial Reflection" (MF) radar system used for real-time determination of dynamic parameters of the upper atmosphere.
• Responsible for converting the Tromsø Ionosonde FORTRAN data presentation software for use on a new computer system.

1987
Electronics Technician
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Designed and implemented a dedicated digital controller and mechanical interface for controlling exposure time and frame rate of a 35 mm news-reel (Filmavisen) Eyemo motion picture camera. The camera, purchased from Erik Løchen—an old, quite famous Norwegian feature film director—had to be rebuilt slightly, as the camera had no accessible 1:1 axes; the most exact axis I could get to was one that rotated once per eight frames. A Nikon lens mount was fitted, and a Nikkor f/2.8, 8 mm fisheye was mounted. The camera was then used by Norwegian film director Morten Skallerud to acquire color footage of the Aurora Borealis for a movie commissioned for the then-newly-opened Tromsø Northern Lights Planetarium. The film is called Arctic Light —and if you look closely you'll see me in it...

1986
Laboratory Assistant
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Assisted students in performing laboratory experiments in an introductory Analog and Digital Electronics course.

Other Experience

2002-3
DVD Production Consultant

• Assisted two major DVD production/distribution companies in locating rare/obscure/missing film elements for inclusion on commercial DVD products, helped design DVD content, authored on-screen essays.

2002-3
Language Consultant

• Provided Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk) language consulting services for major company developing commercial predictive text entry applications for hand-held devices.

2001-3
Webmaster
Nostalghia.com

• Co-founder, web-site graphic designer, and Responsible Newsdesk Editor of Nostalghia.com, the world's major academic website focusing on the filmmaking career of Andrei Tarkovsky, arguably one of the most significant filmmakers of the 20th century. Readership includes several prominent film directors, producers, critics, authors, and historians. Co-founder of robert-bresson.com, and founding member of mastersofcinema.org.

1989
Producer
University of Tromsø, Norway

• Program engineer/producer at the University of Tromsø Students' FM Radio Station, Studentradioen (college radio, alternative music). Prime-time live broadcast planning and execution.

1983 - 1984
Communications Operator (Corporal)
Norwegian Armed Forces (The Army/Signals)

• Trained under arctic winter field-conditions in Voice/Morse Code Radio Operations (HF, VHF, UHF), Digital Telephone Switchboard Operations (Northern Telecom SL-1), Strategic Network Operations, and Electronic Warfare. Awards and distinctions include the Infantry Badge (w/Trophy) and the Rifle Markmanship Badge. Obtained Advanced Class Radio Amateur (ham radio) license. Reached a 20+ words per minute (wpm) Morse Code performance level.

1981 - 1986
Holiday Relief Worker
Northern Norway Sales Organization (NNS)

• Summer jobs 1981 to 1986. Taken together, the periods of work amounted to one year of full-time employment. I was in charge of the meat-smoking facility. Physically very strenuous work — smoked literally tons of sausages each week, to perfection.