AXIS SQUARED - Key Persons

Mike was finally where he needed to be, working with one of the premier astronomical groups in the world. His initial position was with the Super-LOTIS collaboration. Super-LOTIS was a 24 inch, highly customized automated telescope on Kitt Peak that was specifically searching for Gamma Ray Bursts. Mike was a key part of the local team that fixed, upgraded and maintained the telescope and observatory facilities. He spent all day every day working on site, working with the specialized Boller & Chivens telescope. Mike also started splitting his time between Super-LOTIS and the larger Steward Observatory instrumentation crew. Over the next 7 years, he spent nearly every day on site at various observatories working with telescopes with mirrors between 24 inches and…well, about 33 feet across. Yes, BIG telescopes. The kind that you actually climb into when you are adjusting gears, the kind that have ladders mounted on them to access the cameras.