Data Services Newsletter

Volume 14 : No 2 : Fall 2012

Rob Newman - Information Services Coordinator/Webmaster

Although I only started working at the DMC in July 2012, I have worked with many of the crew here from my previous life as a senior software developer for the EarthScope USArray Array Network Facility at UC San Diego. After 10 happy years in southern California my family decided to embrace change and find some new challenges in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I am pretty sure there will be less surfing and more bike riding. I am going to be leading the charge on getting the DMC website up to speed with the latest and greatest developments in web technologies, whilst also making your experience interacting with the virtual DMC more pleasant and efficient.

Prior to my time in SoCal I slogged through a PhD in Structural & Metamorphic Geology from James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In my spare time there I started up a dot-com software company on the side called Osmotion. It’s still around so I think I did something right. Also, if you have never been to Australia I wholeheartedly recommend it – it is well worth the long plane ride – and I hope to get back there one day.

Before embarking on a PhD I worked for Halliburton as an offshore engineer in various far-flung places like the Congo, Angola, and central France (be wary if you are asked if you speak another language when interviewing for a multinational company – I told them I spoke French). I am originally from the south of England but did my Bachelors degree at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire (home of Yorkshire pudding and Tetley beer). After my degree I bounced around Europe for a year living in Chamonix, France and Stockholm, Sweden. As you can probably tell I love to travel….

I am lucky enough to be married to an amazing woman, Ryan, and we have a beautiful 18-month-old daughter named Poppy. We also have a 10 year old Carolina dog called Nia who tolerates having her ears and tail pulled almost continuously by Poppy. Outside of work I play competitive soccer, ride my mountain bike, surf when I can, and listen to live music with my wife. We are extremely happy to be in Seattle.

Rob Newman and his family

by Rob Newman (IRIS Data Management Center)

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