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Applied Sciences

Karlton Powell

Principal Researcher (Alum)

Karlton Powell
Karlton Powell

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Karlton Powell joined the Applied Sciences Group coming from Microsoft Surface. Before joining Surface, he was a research engineer at Microvision, Inc., working on various scanned-beam laser displays, such as HMDs (helmet-mounted displays), HUDs (head-up displays), and pocket-sized laser projectors, primarily focused in the areas of beam propagation, diffractive optics and micro-optics, interference, speckle, and photonics.

Powell received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from Abilene Chrisitian University in 1990, and a Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1992. He then began his career at Fresnel Technologies in Ft. Worth as a precision engineer working with precision machining, diamond turning, and design & fabrication of micro-optics, surfaces, and Fresnel optics.

Powell later joined Ball Semiconductor in Allen, TX in 1998 as a research and optical engineer, working with spherical lithography.

Besides being a trombonist, Powell has been known to musically play saw (yes, cross-cut), he enjoys spending time with his three sons, there is a 14-foot CNC quilting machine in his livingroom (yes, he married a quilter), he used to assist his father in restoring pipe organs such as one located in the Strand theatre of Shreveport which is practically a lost art, and the getaway vehicle for his wedding was a helicopter, yes a helicopter…now that’s cool.

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