Data Services Newsletter

Volume 14 : No 3 : Winter 2012

Celso Reyes - Quality Assurance Engineer

Celso Reyes carving ice

I joined the DMC in August 2011, fresh off the ferry from Fairbanks Alaska, where I had been working towards my PhD in Volcano Seismology. I was hired on to help ensure that our software leaves the gate in good condition. I also write MATLAB code, try to keep techno-speak out of our documentation, and do plenty of “other duties as assigned”.

I’m originally from Connecticut. After getting a computer science degree in Miami FL, I spent a few summers hiking around Yellowstone where I was enthralled by the outdoors and active earth. That initial trip also brought me into the interior of our country for the first time, where I fell in love with the deserts. I moved to Tucson. While there, I mostly worked at Intuit where, through a series of fortunate misunderstandings, I ended up helping to establish a new data recovery department.

Eight years later and looking for new challenges, I uprooted and moved to Flagstaff to study Geology at Northern Arizona University. When my geology field camp brought me through Yellowstone again, I realized that I had to study volcanoes and earthquakes.

A little research and several good omens later, my car was packed and I was on my way to Alaska to study volcano seismology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I was drawn there by Alaska’s many active volcanoes and the chance to work with the Alaska Volcano Observatory. While studying, I had incredible experiences: fieldwork in the Aleutians, participating in eruption responses, visits to far-flung places, and more. To do justice to AK would take too much room in this already long article. It was awesome and extreme. Summers were great for paddling. Winters were beautiful and raw. I played music and took up ice carving in the World Ice-Art Championships. In 2010 my team of four turned 19,000 kg of ice into a Sonoran desert scene that featured a six meter tall ice-saguaro.

by Celso Reyes (IRIS Data Management Center)

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