Abraham Anderson

Objective:

Ut ilize unique experiences and dynamic skill set to contribute to the realization of mission

completion.

E xperience:

Sapphire Energy L as Cruces, N M

Senior Research Associate M ay 2009 – Present

My time at Sapphire Energy, a world leading algae R&D company, began in the media

p reparation where I was responsible for ensuring the quality of both solid and liquid growth

media and was in charge of laboratory and chemical inventory and process management. I

was quickly promoted to manage both the media prep room as well as the R&D site’s only

culture room. The culture room maintains a library of 200 plus individual algae strains that

I was tasked with culturing and maintaining axenic cultures of, as well as scaling up these

s trains from plates to carboys while ensuring quality and uncontaminated cultures.

I n addition to the media preparation and scale up work, I also had the opportunity to work

as a member of the crop protection team to both identify novel pests and recommend

pesticide t reatments. In this role I worked on various cutting edge algae pest identification

techniques and t reatment options. This required a t remendous amount of f lexibili ty and

versatility as the pest challenges that were encountered changed frequently and

u npredictably.

I n 2011 I was selected as a cultivation team member to lead a major project of designing a

scalable reactor system. The new system had to prove reliable and consistent at scaling and

u ltimately providing large volumes of clean inoculum. In addition to serving as reactor

p roject lead I was simultaneously tasked with overseeing the entirety of the scale up

p rocess, from plate to reactor. In this challenging role I successfully managed many moving

parts as well as oversaw personnel. The reactor project was a novel, long term and

u ltimately successful project that I collaborated with PhDs and seasonal interns to

successfully meet our company’s goals.

M y time at Sapphire has helped spur my professional development in many areas:

• Communication – I have had the opportunity to work on projects that encompassed

t he four different Sapphire sites in two different states. I am aware of the necessity

of clarifying expectations and maintaining organization. This has proved equally

t rue as well as equally challenging when communicating across onsite teams and

one on one with experiment owners.

• Safety – As I took on more responsibili ty for projects and as a team lead I became

more cognizant of the responsibility creating and maintaining a safe working

environment. In 2012 I volunteered to become a certified Safe-Start Trainer and also

served as the team representative to the Las Cruces site safety committee. I have

worked hard to not only incorporate safety-minded thinking into what I do

personally but to be proactive about sharing safety information with those I

supervise, addressing individual needs and working in a cooperative manner to

ensure minimal r isk and maximized safety when working with heavy equipment

outside and lab equipment and chemicals inside.

• Leadership – I have had the privilege of managing teams of up to seven members

since 2009. I have been successful at working with a variety of personalities and

education levels through many structural and operational challenges. Being able to

manage others has provided me the opportunity to experiment with different

management styles and has helped me address people on an individual needs basis.

I value the ability to lead in others and am always eager and excited to continue to

learn from those around me and to fur ther cultivate this skill in myself.

• Data I ntegrity – I have worked with large data sets for a number of different algae

cultivation platforms, ranging from 5mL preview tubes to production ponds of 150kL

t hat must be meticulously monitored to ensure the integrity of the data we produce.

A nother specialized skill I have gained is the ability to interpret these large data

sets to help identify t rends and inform future production strategies.

• Scientific Skills – Working side by side with many talented scientist I was have

been able to further develop as a researcher. I am able to think analytically and as a

member of an R&D team to anticipate challenges and to become a creative and

p ragmatic problem solver

• Technical Writing – Technical wri ting is one way to help communicate and ensure

data integrity. I have listed it separately because it is a skill that I have spent a lot

of time and energy developing because I appreciate the value of good technical

w r it ing. I have wri t ten and edited 15 safety and production related SOPs as well as

5 experimental reports and contributed to one peer reviewed journal article.

N ew Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM

Lab Technician June 2007 – May

2009

I worked under the supervision of Dr. M ichael Johnson in an inorganic chemistry laboratory

t hat focused on the relationship between reverse micelle size and the kinetics of I ron (II I)

reduction by ascorbic acid. The reverse micelle size was directly related to solvent to water

r atios, and needed to be extremely accurate. The reduction of I ron (I I I) was studied using a

s top f low spectrometer. While working in the N MSU lab I fur ther developed lab techniques,

l ab safety, and my ability to present experiment results to colleagues.

E ducation:

Bachelors of Chemistry New Mexico State University May

2008

Excellent references available upon request

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