George Rodrigues, Ph.D.
The Leader
George is a master of measurement and a leader in the field of metrology and
performance analysis of liquid delivery instrumentation. As Senior Scientific
Manager at ARTEL, he helps laboratories worldwide meet compliance standards and
maximize quality and productivity. George also works with numerous regulatory bodies and industry organizations. He
is on a mission to raise awareness of the need for liquid handling quality
assurance and minimizing pipetting errors.
Extreme environments are nothing new to George, whose experience in the Navy’s submarine service prepared him for the extreme conditions of the Expedition. George's love of nature and passion for camping, along with his Berkeley education and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering
make him well-equipped for the role of Expedition Leader.
When he’s not busy puzzling the mysteries of measurement uncertainty, thermal
disequilibrium and dye chemistry, George can be found gardening in his
backyard.
Doreen Rumery
The Regulator
Quality Control is Doreen’s focus and passion. As Laboratory Technical Manager and Quality Control Manager
at ARTEL, she is responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance. This includes
developing and validating methods to test and calibrate ARTEL’s liquid handling products, as well as training laboratory technicians on proper
equipment use and operating procedures.
During the Expedition, Doreen applies her QC expertise to standardize experiment
protocols and maximize data integrity. Her scientific skills are put to use
during the results analysis process, which is essential in determining how
environment conditions contribute to laboratory error. Doreen’s green heart and green thumb also come in handy. She is an active
environmentalist who lives off food grown on her ten acres of land.
Doreen is a certified Medical Laboratory Technologist with 20 years of
laboratory experience and a degree in Applied Science from Eastern Maine
Vocational Technical Institute.
Aaron Davis
The Data Collector
As ARTEL’s resident troubleshooter, or Quality Control Technician, Aaron is responsible
for calibrating, maintaining and repairing laboratory equipment. He also leads
inspection and testing of ARTEL’s calibration systems for pipettes and automated liquid handlers according to
rigorous industry standards.
Aaron is one of ARTEL’s most consistent pipettors. He utlizes his superb technique and laboratory
skills when collecting data to verify the performance of liquid delivery
devices in the extreme Expedition locations. Aaron is also on call to ensure
proper experiment set-up and equipment use, and provide technical support as
needed. A daredevil and outdoorsman who enjoys taking motorcycle rides with
friends and family, Aaron is always up for the challenge.
Aaron has a B.S. in Applied Ecology from the University of Southern Maine and
has worked as a wildlife animal rehabilitator. He is restoring a
1983 Honda Nighthawk motorcycle between Extreme Pipetting missions.
Jim Daniels
The Recorder
Jim’s role on the Expedition has been to record, through photography, the extreme locales
and data collection processes, beginning with the Yellowstone Mission. His work
is instrumental in helping ARTEL raise awareness about environmental
conditions as a source of laboratory error and providing proof to demonstrate
the scientific foundation of the testing procedures.
Jim is a professional photographer and writer with more than twenty years of
experience working on corporate and editorial projects around the globe. Jim
collaborates with businesses interested in telling their stories of service,
awareness and growth. Past projects include documenting health advocacy in the
developing world and reporting on a firm’s initiative to provide medicine to children in Egypt.
Jim is currently finishing a book about children in the Dominican Republic and
has produced stories on subjects as diverse as adoption in Central America (a
1988 Pulitzer Prize runner-up), living with AIDS, and the need to close a
dangerous prison.
Bob Stevenson, Ph.D.
The Advisor
Bob is an expert in laboratory instrumentation and separation science, currently
providing management assistance in business development to life science
companies. He is also a consulting editor for several prominent industry publications,
including American Laboratory and American Biotechnology Laboratory.
Bob’s insight, gleaned from years of guiding companies and publication readers, make
him the right choice for Expedition Advisor. His consultation and analytical thinking keep the missions focused on
the laboratory user.
Bob has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Arizona and a
B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College. He enjoys growing (and eating!) heirloom tomatoes and various berries, and also
snorkels.
Geoff Sawyer
The Data Collector, Mission #3
Geoff is a Quality Control Technician in the ARTEL laboratory, ensuring that
operations conform to international standards such as ISO 17025. He is tasked
with inspecting, testing and calibrating ARTEL-manufactured systems and
solutions for liquid handling quality assurance.
Just as he ensures quality in ARTEL products leaving the lab, Geoff ensures
quality in the data taken on the Extreme Pipetting Expedition. He will do much
of the testing during Mission #3, applying his standardized pipetting technique
honed through training and certification with the ARTEL Method™. He earned his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Southern Maine.
Alex Rogers
Mission Support
As a Systems Engineer at ARTEL, Alex programs the software that powers the
company’s systems for pipette calibration and verification of automated liquid handlers.
He is also responsible for computer-integrated manufacturing systems at ARTEL
and has extensive experience in automating production equipment.
Alex’s software expertise, scientific know-how, and pipetting skills have all
contributed to the Expedition’s success. His excellent photographic skills are demonstrated in the Mission 1:
Mount Washington photo gallery.
Alex has a B.S. in Aircraft Engineering Technology from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University.
Bjoern Carle, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor
Bjoern has considerable experience in handling liquids and operating instruments
in a variety of laboratory settings. As Laboratory Applications Scientist at
ARTEL, his responsibilities include the critical evaluation and investigation
of parameters influencing liquid delivery accuracy and precision. Bjoern is
also involved in the development of new applications and technology, as well as
providing customer training on the use of ARTEL instruments, and proper liquid
handling techniques.
No stranger to handling small volumes in extreme environments, Bjoern is used to
dispensing single-microliter volumes of reagents in almost complete darkness,
surrounded by powerful lasers and a broad spectrum of analytical instruments.
He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany,
his Ph.D. in Organic Photochemistry from the University of Cincinnati, and
conducted post-doctoral research in Photomedicine and Photobiology at Harvard
Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
