From "Can you phase shift this?" to "How do you measure that?"

This paper is an overview of my career and insights I have gained along the way. I grew up around optics in Corning, NY, got degrees in optics from University of Rochester and University of Arizona, and have been working on a large variety of projects ever since. I will cover projects that include: the development of "Digital Speckle Pattern Interferometry" and "Two-wavelength phase-shifting interferometry," teaching optical sciences courses, working on the LIGO Interferometer project, imaging biofields and biophotons, measuring effects of musical sound, imaging biological cell cultures and small critters using dynamic quantiative phase imaging, and helping clients image, measure, build and test a variety of optical systems.