Patrick Fletcher
SENIOR ADVANCED R&D SCIENTIST TECH LEAD, HONEYWELL
PATRICK FLETCHER KNEW FROM an early age that he was built for engineering, but the exact path was not always obvious. Working alongside Ph.D.s on a university co-op program in chemical weapon detectors first steered Fletcher towards research. But after obtaining his doctorate in mechanical engineering, he took a sharp turn into industry.
In his work as a senior development engineer at Seagate Technologies, Fletcher was not one to shy away from new things. Although formally educated in atomic force microscopy and hired for that purpose, he shared that he had wanted to explore outside his field. “I was interested in optics and integrated photonics. So, I started becoming a subject matter expert in lasers,” Fletcher said.
It was a bold move that paid off, as it offered Fletcher and his family the opportunity to relocate to Northern Ireland on a 9-month assignment with Seagate. “I think that's my proudest accomplishment: Making a switch in my technical expertise and then moving to another country and exercising my engineering ability, then coming home and continuing that expertise.”
“I try to recommend that students understand the limitations that come with getting a Ph.D. It tends to narrow the potential job opportunities for you.”
Patrick Fletcher
Now an R&D scientist at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, Fletcher is experiencing the application of research firsthand. The timeline between seeing something work in the lab and commercializing that technology is shorter, he explained. “Approaching research with the idea that you’re going to deploy it focuses the research on finding a solution that can reach market,” he added.
Fletcher currently works on the HALAS project—an acronym standing for high altitude lidar atmospheric sensing. HALAS is a tool designed for making weather measurements like wind speed, direction, air pressure, air temperature, and humidity at up to 100,000 feet. “The HALAS technology pairs a laser with a telescope for sampling molecular temperature, speed, direction, and aerosol scattering along an optical path using a ground-, air-, or sea-based measurement platform.” explained Fletcher. “I’ve come to a young talented team, and we’re aiming to commercialize it.”
© 2024 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.