TC

A Living Self-Portrait

Achievements & Aspirations

The resume tells you what I've been paid to do. This page tells you who I am. A few things I'm proud of, a few small things that feel like heaven, and a list of places to go and things to build before the lights go out.

Started January 8, 2022. Last revised April 24, 2026. Always in progress.

Lifetime Achievements

Chronological. Some show up on the resume; most live here because they're harder to put in a bullet point.

1987Early

2nd place, South Carolina State Electronics Contest

First sign that the soldering iron and the oscilloscope were going to be lifelong friends.

1987Early

Voted 2nd Funniest Guy, Lexington High graduating class

Engineering brain, comedian heart. The combination has served me well in every meeting since.

1993Racing

WERA Lightweight Superbike Champion, Southeast Division

Plus a long string of first-place wins on an FZR400 and a Hawk 650. Knee on the ground at 125 mph teaches you something about commitment.

1993Personal

Bought my first car in cash — a Porsche 944

Twenty-two years old, no loan, no co-signer. Worked, saved, drove off the lot.

1996Personal

Bought my first Ferrari at 25 — a 1981 308 GTBi

Childhood poster on the wall, then a key in my hand. Still the best startup sound in engineering.

1997 – 2007Wireless

Helped invent Wi-Fi

Worked on the first Wi-Fi chipset and built the world's first Wi-Fi access point. I was in the room when the name "Wi-Fi" was proposed and voted on.

2008 – 2011Wireless

Helped create one of the first WiMAX (4G) chipsets

From standards documents to silicon to working radios. The mobile internet you carry around traces its lineage through here.

2011 – 2013Mobile

Shipped 50+ iPhone apps used by millions

Including a Barcode Scanner that helped real people save real money on real groceries. Engineering that pays rent for someone else.

2012 – 2015Hardware

Invented the world's smallest, cheapest 3D printer

LCD-gated UV resin technology — my invention, still in use today by millions of makers. Hardware as accessible as software.

2015 – 2020Aerospace

Architected commercial in-flight entertainment systems

In-seat video and satellite internet for airliners. If you watched a movie at 38,000 feet in the late 2010s, there's a good chance you used something I helped build.

2020 – 2021Aerospace

Wrote the qualification software for the F-35 ICP supercomputer

Stealth fighter, integrated core processor. Code that has to be right the first time, every time.

2022 – 2023Aerospace

Helped build the Space Force SDA T0/T1/T2 Ground Control System

Hypersonic missile tracking constellation. Ground software that talks to satellites that talk to history.

Research

Published a social psychology paper on the Initial Trait Bias Effect (ITBE)

Engineers can be researchers too. Curiosity doesn't respect departmental boundaries.

What Makes Me Happy

Small slices of heaven. The good stuff is rarely expensive.

❤An unsolicited hug from a seven-year-old.
❤Seeing my friends for the first time in a few weeks.
❤A cold, slightly sweet, very well-shaken espresso martini at the end of a productive week.
❤The satisfaction of finishing a long DIY project.
❤Watching the sun come up from the beach after the gym.
❤Strapping on a snowboard for the first run of the season at the very top of the Alps, looking down at clouds.
❤The startup sound of a Ferrari.
❤My kids — truly excited about something — wanting me to be the first person to hear the story.
❤Photographing flowers in the Tuileries in Paris at the very beginning of spring.
❤Learning something new, complex, and genuinely challenging.

Bucket List

8 of 31 checked off so far. Open items first; finished ones fade to the bottom.

  • Build a one-person unicorn company using AI
    Build
  • Build a micro, portable nuclear fusion reactor that runs on batteries
    Build
  • Find the love of my life to spend this list with
    People
  • Ride the SpaceX Starship to Asia or Australia
    Adventure
  • Get a pilot's license — airplane
    Fly
  • Get a pilot's license — helicopter
    Fly
  • Own a Hill HX-80 helicopter
    Fly
  • Own a HondaJet or Cirrus Vision Jet
    Fly
  • Own a ~100-foot yacht
    Adventure
  • Buy or build a house on Lansing Island
    Build
  • Build or buy a house in Bali or Hawaii
    Build
  • House on the water in Miami near the Fontainebleau
    Build
  • Snowboard in Bariloche, Argentina
    Adventure
  • Snowboard the Italian Dolomites
    Adventure
  • Visit Cleopatra Island
    Travel
  • Stay in Gstaad, Switzerland
    Travel
  • Walk a pink-sand beach (Pantai Merah, Indonesia)
    Travel
  • Drive the Amalfi Coast
    Travel
  • Stay at the Svart hotel in Norway
    Travel
  • Stay at the Woodnest tree house in Norway
    Travel
  • Visit Sarandë, Albania
    Travel
  • Visit Kosovo
    Travel
  • Visit Gibraltar
    Travel
  • Take the family to Hawaii for vacation
    Family· done
  • Meet Elon Musk
    People· done
  • Order a Ferrari at the factory in Maranello
    Travel· done
  • See an F1 Grand Prix in person, in Europe
    Travel· done
  • Snowboard in Ischgl, Austria
    Adventure· done
  • Snowboard in Oberlech, Austria
    Adventure· done
  • Snowboard in Grindelwald, Switzerland
    Adventure· done
  • Visit Dubrovnik, Croatia in summer
    Travel· done

If you spot something on the bucket list you can help with — an introduction, an invitation, a co-conspirator — I'd love to hear from you.

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