This June, the Engineering Division is recognizing the accomplishments and service of 11 employees who are retiring. With an average tenure of slightly over 18 years at the Lab, this cohort of employees represents the Division’s ethos of innovation, excellence, and commitment to team science. The retirees are Michael Barry, Rick Bloemhard, Michelle Hesselman, Bill Holmquist, Richard Kraft, Amanda Krieger, Thomas Lipton, Gordon Lyall, Farhad Salmassi, Ross Schlueter, and James Swanson. Below, some of our retirees share their memories and proudest achievements during their careers.
Rick Kraft, Technical Manager, Manufacturing Engineering Department
Kraft has worked in the Engineering Division since October 2006. Kraft says he has too many fond memories of his time at the Lab to pick a favorite. He also says that what makes the Engineering Division unique is that employees are fully supported to do their best work.
“One of my proudest accomplishments was earning the trust and respect of Engineering and LBNL leadership, which gave me the opportunity to help shape both the B77 Complex and the Mechanical Fabrication group,” Kraft says. “Through that partnership, I helped ensure the continued relevance and value of the B77 Complex and the group in supporting the Laboratory’s scientific mission.”
Amanda Krieger, IC Design Engineer, Electronics, Software, and Instrumentation Engineering (ESIE) Department
Krieger began working at Berkeley Lab in 1991 and, of this retirement cohort, she is the individual with the longest tenure at Berkeley Lab. Among her career highlights, Krieger is a 2017 Director’s Award recipient for her work promoting LGBTQ inclusion and her efforts to make the Lab a more inclusive place for all communities.
Krieger has many career accomplishments in her work as an integrated circuit designer for the Engineering Division, contributing to advancing instruments at the frontier of physics, planetary science, and structural biology. Some examples of her work include the design of the HERMES ASIC for the Mercury Ion Analyzer in the JAXA/ESA BepiColombo mission, which launched in 2018 and is scheduled to enter Mercury orbit in November 2026. As a key member of the RD53 collaboration, she designed front-end electronics for the ATLAS pixel detector readout system supporting the High-Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). Her work also includes the image sensors at the heart of cutting-edge Cryo-electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) cameras — detectors that have enabled landmark scientific advances, including some of the first detailed structural maps of SARS-CoV-2 proteins.
Tom Lipton, Engineering Technical Manager, Manufacturing Engineering Department
Lipton joined the Engineering Division in April of 2009. He says that the people are what make the Engineering Division a special place to work and that his favorite parts of his job are solving thorny technical problems that then enable researchers to be successful.
About his career at the Lab he says, “If I had to characterize it, the feeling is more satisfaction to contribute some small measure of the overall success of literally thousands of projects and technical problems. Engineering work is more of a foundation that science pushes against to advance. It has been super fun being a part of that process.”
In addition, Lipton says one moment at the Lab that sticks in his mind: “Asking if I needed to sign for a 1 kg platinum crucible I took to the ultra-high vacuum cleaning facility on my second day at LBNL. You only find those kinds of weird scale distortions where fundamental science is involved.”
Gordon Lyall, Technical Drawing Checker, CAD Department
Lyall has worked in the Engineering Division since August 2023. He says that he hopes that his work has helped to improve the standard and quality of engineering drawings produced at the Lab and that the diversity of cultures and views across the Bay make Engineering a special place to work. One of Lyall’s fondest memories is taking part in the ALS’s Hallow-Ring costume contest in October 2024.
“Every Halloween the ALS has a gathering, and those wearing a costume parade through the ALS and collect treats at various positions along the way,” Lyall says. “The costumes are then judged and awards handed out. I won an award for best Skeletal in 2024.”
Jim Swanson, Engineering Technical Associate, Manufacturing Engineering Department
Swanson started working in the Engineering Division in September of 1999. He has worked in the Superconducting Magnet Group throughout his time at the Lab. His first project was refurbishing a large hydraulic press in the Bevetron building.
“I have participated in building and testing many styles of superconducting magnets,” Swanson remarks. “A few of these were world records. I loved spending this much time in the magnet group. It has been like a family to me. This has been the job that I love coming to.”
Swanson worked on two large magnets that were consecutive world record holders for magnetic field strength. The first magnet was D20, which produced 13.5 Tesla. The second was RD-3, which produced 14.7 Tesla. Both were one meter long and weighed in at several tons.
Bill Holmquist, Engineering Drawing Checker, CAD Department
Holmquist has worked in the Engineering Division since September 2020. He says that his proudest accomplishment at Berkeley Lab is “bringing world-class standards to our Engineering Drawings.” Leveraging his extensive machine shop experience, he has improved the quality of drawings, including introducing geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) requirements. He has also created over 100 GD&T introductory videos on the Talent LMS website.
“I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support and kindness my colleagues have shown me during my time here,” says Holmquist. “Everyone is super nice. I’ve never had a negative experience with a coworker.”
Michelle Hesselman, Electronics CAD Administrator, CAD Department
Hesselman began working in the Engineering Division in January 2019. Inheriting a complex software landscape, she worked to organize and document all of the CAD Department’s Electronics Engineering contracts. A veteran of Honeywell Aerospace, where she worked in various capacities as a PCB Designer and an Electronics CAD administrator, she brought this experience and expertise to challenges at Berkeley Lab, helping the Electronics, Software, and Instrumentation Engineering (ESIE) Department and its employees manage and administer their software. Additionally, she built software deployments for all areas of the team, which became critical to the release of customized packages.
Hesselman recalls her favorite memory from her time at the Lab as walking around the beautiful campus. Regarding her retirement, she says that she most looks forward to “spending time training my dogs and traveling to different trials and events.”
Rick Bloemhard, Principal Electronics Engineering Associate, Engineering Division
Bloemhard has worked in the ALS and Engineering Divisions since June 2006. He has served as the ALS Operations Supervisor for eight years and spent 12 years in Electronics Engineering Support. Bloemhard says his favorite memories at the lab were get-togethers with colleagues after work or during lunchtime. Being able to work in so many different scientific areas, and feeling trusted to set his own priorities and timeframes, is what makes the Engineering Division such a special place to work.
Bloemhard recalls one funny story from his time at the Lab: “Years ago there was an emergency response when someone reported seeing a mountain lion in the grass close to the ALS. The response included a sniper on a building’s roof. After what seemed like a really long time, a feral house cat emerged from the bush. The responders pulled back. There always were a lot of laughs while working the off-shift hours.”
Bloemhard is looking forward to many long bike rides and attending KPOP concerts in his retirement.
Farhad Salmassi, Principal Scientific Engineering Associate, Engineering Division
Salmassi started working in the Engineering Division in February 1998. His proudest accomplishment during his time at the Lab is breaking the efficiency records for various diffractive optics. He also developed advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) coatings to support next-generation lithography applications.
“My favorite memory is to be the last name on an email that was sent to celebrate the career of Chuck Fadley, a career lab scientist,” Salmassi says. “The email included some division directors, deputies, and staff scientists. Somehow, I snuck in at the very end. Still, it made me feel pretty good.”
