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Henry Quach, Ph.D.

Optical Scientist/Engineer

Greetings!

I am an Optics Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. My research was in the field of precision optical metrology, where I worked in optical/illumination design, image processing, and optomechanical engineering. Prior to this, I graduated from Duke University as a first-gen college student. See: [CV] [Resume] [Google Scholar].


Now that my Ph.D. is finished, this blog will unflinchingly swerve from optics R&D into cooking and baking. See: phở, pies and tarts, ramen, and holographic chocolate.

Henry Quach © 2024 All rights reserved.

Research

I worked with the Large Optics Fabrication and Testing Group (LOFT) on exciting and super rad techniques to measure freeform optics. I defended in November 2022 and my defense slides and official dissertation are publically available.


Journal Papers

1. L.R. Graves, H. Quach, H. Choi, and D.W. Kim, "Infinite deflectometry enabling 2π-steradian measurement range," Opt. Express 27, 7602-7615 (2019). [Optica Spotlight, April 2019]
2. L.R. Graves , H.Quach, R.J. Koshel, C.J. Oh, and D.W. Kim, "High contrast thermal deflectometry using long-wave infrared time modulated integrating cavity source," Opt. Express 27, 28660-28678 (2019).
3. D.W. Kim, G. Smith, M. Dubin, A. Lowman, C.J. Oh, H. Quach, H. Kang, H. Yoo, I. Trumper, L.R. Graves, M. Aftab, C. Davila-Peralta, J. Hyatt, and H. Choi, "Advances in reconfigurable optical metrology, characterization, and data analysis," Journal of Physics: Photonics (2020).
4. D.W. Kim, H. Choi, T. Brendel, H. Quach, M. Esparza et al., "Advances in Optical Engineering for Future Telescopes," Opto-Electronic Advances (2021). [Featured Article in AAAS EurekaAlert, July 2021]
5. H. Kang, H. Quach, J. Berkson, M. Aftab, H. Choi, D.W. Kim, "Computational fiducial using G and C vector polynomials for alignment of deflectometry system," Optics Letters (2021).
6. H. Quach , H. Kang, S. Sirsi, A. Chandra, H. Choi, M. Esparza, K. Karrfalt, J. Berkson, Y. Takashima, A. Palisoc, J.W. Arenberg, C. Walker, C. d'Aubigny, D.W. Kim, "Surface Measurement of a Large Inflatable Reflector in Cryogenic Vacuum," Photonics (2021). [Front Page Article of Photonics, February 2022]
7. H. Quach, H. Kang, B. Jeong, H. Choi, D. Kim, "Non-Planar Illumination Deflectometry for Axicon Metrology," Optics Letters (2022)
8. S. Ordones, J. Park, H. Quach, D. Kim, H. Choi, "Spatial-temporal phase demodulation decoding superimposed ghost reflections in optical testing," Optics Letters (2022)
9. S. Sirsi, H. Quach, H. Choi, D. Kim, Y. Takashima, C. Walker, "Modeling and Characterization of OASIS Inflatable Primary Antenna by Dual Modality Metrology," Optics Express (September 2022)
10. B. Jeong, S. Ordones, H. Quach, D. Kim, H. Choi, "Digital filtering of ghost signal in phase measuring deflectometry," Optics Letters (2023). [Optica Editor's Pick, March 2023]
11. J. Berkson, J. Hyatt, H. Kang, S. Ordones, H. Quach, D. Kim, "Binocular fringe projection profilometry for the metrology of meter-scale optical surfaces" Optics Continuum (March 2023)


Conference Proceedings

1. D.W. Kim, M. Aftab, I. Trumper, L.R. Graves, H. Quach, H. Kang, X. Guo, and H. Choi, "Programmatic Large Precision Optics Manufacturing," International Conference on Optics and Electro-Optics (2019).
2. D.W. Kim, M. Aftab, I. Trumper, L.R. Graves, H.Quach, H. Kang, H. Yoo, A. Lowman, G. Smith, M. Dubin, C.J. Oh, J. Hyatt, C. Davila-Peralta, H.J. Choi "Reconfigurable dynamic optical system design, test, and data analysis," SPIE Photonics Europe 11352 (2020).
3. H. Quach, L.R. Graves, H. Kang, D.W. Kim "Electrically-Modulated optoelectronics-based infrared source enabling ground surface precision deflectometry," Advances in Optoelectronic Technology and Industry Development (2020).
4. D.W. Kim, C.K. Walker, D. Apai, T.D. Milster, Y. Takashima, R. Liang, et al., "Disruptive space telescope concepts, designs, and developments: OASIS and Nautilus," EOSAM Frontiers in Optical Metrology (2020).
5. H. Quach, J. Berkson, S. Sirsi, H. Choi, R. Dominguez, B. Duffy, D. Lesser, Y. Takashima, A. Palisoc, C. Walker, D.W. Kim., "Full-Aperture Optical Metrology for Inflatable Membrane Mirrors," Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIII (2020).
6. H. Quach, H. Kang, H. Choi, D.W. Kim, "Non-Planar Illumination Sources for Deflectometry," Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIII (2020).
7. H. Kang, H. Quach, H. Choi, G. Smith, D.W. Kim, "Computational alignment of on-machine deflectometry," Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIII (2020).
8. D.W. Kim, M. Esparza, H. Quach, S. Rodriguez, H. Kang, Y. Feng, and H. Choi, "Optical Technology for Future Telescopes," International Conference on Photonics and Optical Engineering (2020).
9. J. Berkson, Z. Hatfield, A. St. Peter, H. Quach "Meter-Class Infrared Deflectometry for Visibly Non-Specular Surface Metrology," OSA Optical Design and Fabrication Congress (2021).
10. H. Quach, M. Esparza, et al. "Deflectometry-Based Thermal Vacuum Testing for a Pneumatic Terahertz Antenna," Astronomical Optics, Design, Manufacturing, and Test of Space and Ground Systems III. (2021)
11. A. Palosic et al. "Analytical and finite element analysis tool for nonlinear membrane antenna modeling for astronomical applications," Astronomical Optics, Design, Manufacturing, and Test of Space and Ground Systems III. (2021)
12. M. Esparza et al. "Stressed Deformable Reflector and Pneumatic Membrane Antenna for Thermal Vacuum Terahertz Wavefront Control and Measurement," Astronomical Optics, Design, Manufacturing, and Test of Space and Ground Systems III. (2021)
13. D. Kim et al. "Inflatable Space Terahertz Optics Technology," Frontiers in Optics & Photonics. (2021)
14. S. Sirsi et al. "Orbhttps://opg.optica.org/ol/abstract.cfm?uri=ol-48-7-1642byeongiting Astronomical Satellite for Investigating Stellar Systems (OASIS): A Paradigm Shift in Realizing Large Space Telescopes," Space Telescopes and Instrumentation: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave. (2022)
15. H. Quach, et al. “Influence of Lens and Perspective Distortion on Optical Surface Metrology Instrumentation," Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIV. (2022)
16. H. Choi, H. Kang, Y. Huang, M. Yoo, H. Quach, J. Kam, D. Kim “Advanced deflectometry methods for industrial application ," Industrial Optical Devices and Systems. (2023)

Henry Quach © 2024 All rights reserved.

Experience

ASML, EUV Plasma Metrology

Feb 2023 - Present

Senior Optical Sensing Engineer


Develop optical diagnostics for EUV lithography sources.

LOFT Research Group

Aug 2018 - December 2022

Graduate Research Assistant




I worked on a variety of metrology techniques to measure highly challenging specular surfaces, such as convex mirrors and freeform optics. For the past two years, I have been developing advancements to a method called deflectometry, which measures highly sloped optics to nanometers with just a regular machine vision camera, an LCD display, and precision equipment to calibrate those tools. My research advanced the accuracy of the art and the variety of measurable surfaces.


Leaning on my strengths, I supported my labmates with help in optical system analysis, optomechanical design, illumination, and rapid prototyping. Conversely, I have leaned on them for other specialized areas such as lens design, aberration theory, and optical fabrication. It has been a happy existence in a productive, mutually-reinforcing environment.

Nikon Research Corporation of America

May 2022 - Aug 2022

Optical Scientist Intern




At Nikon Research, I worked with principal optical engineers and scientists towards the development of advanced optical architectures. On a given week, I applied optical design, geometrical optics, radiometric calibration, and image processing for optical system prototypes and their analysis. This work included plenty of high-powered lasers, high-speed cameras, lens design, and creative technical ideation.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

May 2021 - Aug 2021

Graduate Optical Engineering Intern


In Summer 2021, I was an optical engineering intern in LLNL’s LSEO (Laser Systems Engineering and Operations) division. My two amazing mentors that virtual summer were Dr. Sid Patankar from Laser Diagnostics and Dr. Stacie Manuel from the Optical Design Group. All of my time was spent on OTSL, or the Optical Thomson Scattering Laser, a gigawatt class deep UV laser (5\(\omega\), or 210 nm) used to probe the plasma generated during each hohlraum shot.

Most notably, I used FRED to conduct stray light analysis on OTSL. This subassembly included around 34 surfaces with prisms, mirrors, lenses, beamsplitters, blast windows, and a scattering aluminum chassis. I managed optical model geometries, coatings, baffles, and considered ghosts from multiple wavelength sources – at the target wavelength (5\(\omega\)), at residual harmonic multiples (1\(\omega\), 2\(\omega\), 3\(\omega\), 4\(\omega\)), and the broadband plasma spectrum. From tracing a few billion rays, I simulated and visualized families of ghost irradiance distributions with special attention to the influence of element piston/tip/tilt/wedge and defocus at the focal plane.

One of my best moments all summer was hearing that one of my simulated ghost families was a dead-on match with a previously unidentified experimental artifact observed by the OTSL alignment team. At the end of summer, my presentation 'Fantastic Ghosts and Where to Find Them' won the LSEO Division Summer Slam, won the Engineering Directorate Summer Slam, and was presented to a broad technical audience as one of several overall winners of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab's Summer Slam, 2021.


Intuitive Surgical

May 2017 - July 2018

Mechanical Engineer




At Intuitive, I worked as a mechanical engineer on a variety of tasks for the instruments group. I designed, assembled, tested, and deployed a huge range of jigs, fixtures, and tooling to support processes engineering and testing for the da Vinci Xi Stapler, Suction Irrigator, and standard monopolar cutting instruments. I worked with suppliers, supplier engineers, project managers, manufacturing engineers, QA, machinists, and technicians alike to develop and maintain production of the product. My experience at Intuitive gave me a strong grasp of root-cause analysis, as well as a sense of how medium-volume manufacturing of complex electromechanical products is successfully accomplished. Shown above are two good friends who worked at Intuitive at the time, Emily and Vatsal, as well as Intuitive's CEO, Gary!

Duke Innovation Studio

Aug. 2016 - May 2017

Studio Staff




During my senior year, I worked at Duke University's formal makerspace, called the Innovation Colab. My job was to talk to whoever came into our space and teach them how to make the things they wanted to make! I taught students (and professors!) how to use our 3D printers, CNCs, and laser cutters. I also tutored SolidWorks, Arduino, and web design. We were unofficially involved with many senior designs, engineering club projects, and a surprising number of gifts for long-distance relationships. The photo above was taken right before many of us graduated - Lucia, Mitch, Addison, Varun, Vinny, Grant, Chip, Ross, and Jenna. (We are missing Kris here :'( )

Intuitive Surgical

May 2016 - Aug. 2016

Advanced Product Development Intern




My first summer with Intuitive was spent on the Advanced Product Development (ADP) team, an R&D group working on a variety of cool robotics projects. Of the topics I can discuss, I designed automated precision assemblies that required the design of kinematic couplings. There, I modeled assemblies in SolidWorks, applied DFMA principles, completed machined parts drawings, conducted FEA studies, and held design reviews for new processes. I was really grateful to be taken under the wing of such incredible and kind people. My experience here was what pushed me take my first optics class ever and what eventually motivated me to apply for a Ph.D. in Optics. The APD interns (great friends and pranksters!) in the summer of 2016 included Natalie, Tae, myself, and Ehsan.

Oceaneering Space Systems

May 2015 - Aug. 2015

Spacesuit Engineering Intern




In the summer of 2015, I moved to Houston for 3 months to work on the Constellation Space Suit contracted by Oceaneering Space Systems. My primary assignment was to assist my mentor, Tammy, for her design of the suit controller assembly (SCA) for NASA's next generation space suit. I wrote readiness reviews, test procedures, and trade studies for mil-spec components for the SCA. Also, I used UI/UX software to revise controller menuing for intuitive usage, human-centered design, and organization of critical mission data. I was able to get an astronaut (Carl Walz) to use it and he gave me his feedback on my design! Preceding that fall's critical design review by NASA, a few of us (Sara, Kylar, myself, and Eric) were able to try on the actual spacesuit we were working on! We fondly recollect our group photos in these suits as "space prom".

Duke Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility

Aug 2014 - Feb 2015

Cleanroom Lab Assistant

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

May 2014 - Aug. 2014

Civil Engineering Intern

Duke Talent Identification Program

Aug 2014 - Feb 2015

Office Assistant

University of Arizona

M.S/Ph.D. in Optical Sciences

ARCS Foundation Scholar, Phoenix Chapter '22-'23; LLNL Summer Slam Winner '21
Member: OSA, SPIE, and ASPE

2018 - 2022

Duke University

BS in Mechanical Engineering

Boeing Grand Challenges Fellow '16-'17

2013 - 2017

Garden Grove High School

Valedictorian; Most Worthy Argonaut

2009 - 2013

One-Pager Resume




PDF (Permalink)

Curriculum Vitae




PDF (Permalink)

Henry Quach © 2024 All rights reserved.

Projects

  • All
  • Optics
  • Mechanical Design
  • Mechatronics
  • Misc.

Influence of Distortion on Optical Metrology

Lens Distortion, Perspective Distortion, Imaging

Holographic Chocolate

Diffraction, Tempering, Process Science

A Study of the Tessar Lens

Optical Design, Optimization, TBD

Design of Phase-Shifting Algorithms

Optical Metrology, Discrete Fourier Transform

σ-baking with π

(Stress-Baking with Pie)

A Clocking Mount for 1m Inflatable Reflectors

Optomechanical Design & Error Budgeting Considerations

Accelerated Corrosion of Copper-Infused PLA

Sunken Treasure Beskar

Tonkotsu Ramen w/ Shio

with 80's city pop aesthetic

Rotary Stage Repair

Stepper & Encoder Electronics

Surface Metrology of a Butterfly's Wing

A Tale of Two Microscopes

Schott Glass Polarimetry

Polarized Light Leakage

Polarization Aberrations in 2-Axis Galvos

Image Plane Uniformity Analysis

Lens Design in Underwater Photography

Aberrations at an Asymmetric Refractive Interface

3D Printed Stereo Projections

Illumination Design Concepts

Rendering in Photoview 360

BRDF Comparisons

3D Printed Lithophanes

Lambertian Diffuseness

Luminescent 3D Prints

Phosphors in Additive Manufacturing

Phonomenal Noodle Soup

An Experimental Approach

Digital Correction for Relative Illumination

A Review of Optical Vignetting

Shinto Hot Sauce Tote

3D Printed Design and Fabrication

Kinematic Supersonic Funky Fresh

Practical 3D Printed K-Couplings

Long-Wave Infrared Integrating Cavity

High-Contrast LWIR Source for Deflectometry

sffPC Build

mATX Workstation

Infinite Deflectometry

Freeform Optical Metrology

Foucault Knife Edge Test

Aberrations and Metrology

Motorized Laparoscopic Cutter

Partial Nephrectomy Surgical Tool

K-Ville: Black Tent 3

Duke vs. UNC, 2017

Chemical Plume Tracker

Deep Sea, High Pressure Electronics

Open Gigabot Repair

Hardware Tuning and Slicing Optimization

Digital Fabrication @ Innovations Co-Lab

Miscellaneous Fun on the Job!

Hybrid Electric Gas Generator

Heavy Lift Drone Power

Ultra Low-Power Ocean pH Sensor

Potentiometric Sensing with Neural Networks

High-Altitude Weather Balloon Electronics

Electronics at 120,000 ft

Prosthetic Hand

Dextrous Manipulation

Magnetic Levitation Controller

PID Tuning

Popsicle Stick Bridges

Structural Design

Henry Quach © 2024 All right reserved.

Reading List

Currently Reading

  1. On Writing, by Stephen King
  2. This is how you lose the time war, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  3. When McKinsey Comes to Town, byMichael Forsyth and Walt Bogdanich

2024

  1. Palo Alto, by Malcolm Harris
  2. Go! by Kazuki Kaneshiro
  3. Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, by Kyle Chayka
  4. Reminiscences of the VLSI Revolution, by Lynn Conway
  5. Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out, by Shannon Reed

2023

  1. Dream Hoarders, by Richard Reeves
  2. Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson
  3. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson
  4. Mistborn: The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson
  5. Mistborn: The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson
  6. Room Service, by Ron Carlson
  7. All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley
  8. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
  9. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
  10. Golden Sun, by Pierce Brown
  11. Morning Star, by Pierce Brown
  12. Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman
  13. Radically Condensed Instructions for Being Just as You Are, by J. Jennifer Matthews
  14. Clarity and Connection, by Yung Pablo
  15. The Wisdom of Insecurity, by Alan Watts
  16. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
  17. My Life Growing Up Asian in America, by CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
  18. The Course of Love, by Alain de Botton
  19. The Book, by Alan Watts
  20. I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: A Memoir, by Baek Se-hee
  21. Kids These Days, by Malcolm Harris
  22. Reclaiming Life from Work, by Simone Stolzoff
  23. Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller
  24. Inward, by Yung Pueblo

2022

  1. The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
  2. The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems, by Pablo Neruda and edited by Mark Eisner
  3. Book of Twilight, by Pablo Neruda and translated by William O'Daly
  4. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  5. The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care, by Marty Makary
  6. Foreverland: The Divine Tedium, by Heather Havrilesky
  7. West with the Night, by Beryl Markham
  8. Night Sky with Exit Wounds, by Ocean Vuong
  9. With Stars in Their Eyes: The Extraordinary Lives and Enduring Genius of Aden and Marjorie Meinel, by James Breckinridge and Alec Pridgeon
  10. The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
  11. Time is a Mother, by Ocean Vuong
  12. Black Market: An Insider's Journey into the High-Stakes World of College Basketball, by Merl Code
  13. Portrait of a Thief: A Novel, by Grace Li
  14. Games: Agency as Art, by C. Thi Nguyen
  15. Polarized Light in Nature, by G.P. Können
  16. Machine See, Machine Do: How Technology Mirrors Bias in Our Criminal Justice System, by Patrick Lin
  17. Breasts and Eggs, by Mieko Kawakami
  18. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
  19. A History of the Photographic Lens, by Rudolf Kingslake
  20. The Emperor's Soul, by Brandon Sanderson
  21. Sixth of the Dusk, by Brandon Sanderson
  22. Existential Physics, by Sabine Hossenfelder
  23. The Varieties of Scientific Experience, by Carl Sagan

2021

  1. Storyworthy, by Matthew Dicks
  2. The Count of Monte Cristo, Unabridged, by Alexandre Dumas, translation by Robin Buss
  3. The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, by Ursula Le Guin
  4. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
  5. The Making of Asian America: A History, by Erika Lee
  6. A Promised Land, by Barack Obama
  7. Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz
  8. The Body: A Guide for Occupants, by Bill Bryson
  9. The Death of Ivan Ilych, by Leo Tolstoy
  10. How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapters, by Sherwin B. Nuland
  11. Goodbye, Again, by Johnny Sun
  12. HTWF&IP, by Dale Carnegie
  13. Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, by Johnny Sun
  14. Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
  15. Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, by Sabine Hossenfelder
  16. Becoming, by Michelle Obama
  17. Kandinsky, by Hajo Düchting
  18. Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots, by James Suzman
  19. The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next, by Lee Smolin
  20. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, by Carl Sagan
  21. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, by Carl Sagan
  22. Perspectives on Modern Optics and Imaging, by Ronian Siew
  23. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

2020

  1. An American Illness, by Elizabeth Rosenthal
  2. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathan Haidt
  3. The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
  4. Out of the Woods, by Julia Corbett
  5. Excellent Sheep, by William Deresiewicz
  6. The War on Normal People, by Andrew Yang
  7. The Hardware Hacker, by Andrew "bunnie" Huang
  8. The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus
  9. Dune, by Frank Hebert
  10. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabakov
  11. An Edge in the Kitchen, by Chad Ward
  12. Computer-Aided Lens Design, by Gregory Hallock Smith
  13. The Pho Cookbook, by Andrea Nguyen
  14. Minor Feelings, by Cathy Park Hong
  15. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, by Brian Christian
  16. A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, by David Attenborough
  17. Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
  18. Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabakov

2019

  1. On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
  2. Principles for Work and Life, by Ray Dalio
  3. Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou
  4. How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
  5. What a Fish Knows
  6. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman
  7. How to Be A Person in the World, by Heather Havrilesky
  8. What if This Were Enough? by Heather Havrilesky
  9. Storytelling with Data, by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
  10. Thinking in Bets, by Annie Duke

All-Time Favorites

  1. Principles for Work and Life, by Ray Dalio
  2. What if This Were Enough? by Heather Havrilesky
  3. How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
  4. The Annotated Mona Lisa, by John Boswell

Archived

  1. The Optics of Life, by Sonke Johnsen
  2. Pnin, by Vladimir Nabakov
  3. Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs, edited by John Bowe
  4. The Art of the Personal Essay, edited by Phillip Lopate
  5. Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, by Gretchen McCulloch

Henry Quach © 2024 All rights reserved.