About Me
Bio
I am an optical physicist with fifteen years of professional research experience. Prior to starting DIEHL RGS, I was chief scientist at ASE Optics. My primary role at ASE Optics was to direct and manage internal research as principal investigator. I also provided technical consulting services to ASE’s external customers. I won the first SBIR …
Mission
“Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in language comprehensible to everyone.”—Albert Einstein and Léopold Infeld, The Evolution of Physics: From Early Concepts to Relativity and Quanta
Research Experience
Freelance Grant Writing Consultant January 2011–Present I help researchers write compelling and fundable grant proposals. In addition to crafting the proposal, I can help to identify relevant opportunities, research competing approaches, and align the proposal to the funding agency’s higher objectives. Chief Scientist, ASE Optics, Inc. March 2004–January 2011 I led ASE’s internal research for …
Education
University of Rochester, Institute of Optics, Ph.D. Optical Engineering 1995–2003 My doctoral dissertation in the Electronic Imaging Systems group, under the sponsorship of Dr. Nicholas George, centered on methods to design, analyze, and fabricate interference filters in photopolymer films. Digital copies of my dissertation are available from the University of Rochester library. During this time …
Key Skills
Technical Writing and Presentation My success as a consulting scientist has been built upon my ability to convey complex technical information to a general audience. Michael Alley’s books, The Craft of Scientific Writing and The Craft of Scientific Presentations, have heavily influenced my approach. Research and Analysis Although skilled in the laboratory, I specialize in …
Key Publications
C.J. Ditchman, D.W. Diehl, C.T. Cotton, N.E. Burdick, D. Woodlock, J. Zou, “Advances in freeform optical metrology using a multibeam low-coherence optical probe (Quad-Probe),” Proc. SPIE 8016 (2011). D.W. Diehl, C.T. Cotton, C.J. Ditchman, N.E. Burdick, H.S. Ammenheuser, “Multi-point low-coherence optical probe for freeform optical metrology,” OSA Optical Fabrication and Testing OTuD3 (2010). D.W. Diehl, …
Patents
D.A. Reneker, C. Cotton, D.W. Diehl, “Precision optical systems with performance characterization and uses thereof,” U.S. Patent #7,751,645 (2010). D.A. Reneker, C. Cotton, D.W. Diehl, “Precision optical systems with performance characterization and uses thereof,” U.S. Patents #7,496,241 (2010).