By Jennifer Sertl
At Circle Optics, we are an eclectic group of deeply curious individuals committed to making a difference through immersive experiences in aerospace, robotics, and entertainment. This year we had our first Circle Optics’ Student Expo and have a great group of interns helping us create the next generation of 360-degree wide field of view camera technology. To celebrate National Intern Day we are putting the spotlight our Circle Optics Interns!
Meet Declan Bhagwat, our Optomechanical Engineering Intern. Bhagwat joins us from the University of Rochester, where he just earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and received the Emil J. Kuichling Award in 2023.
Senior Mechanical Engineer, Carlos M. Terrero has this to say, “I’m thrilled to welcome Declan to our team. From the moment he stood up and started drawing on the whiteboard to explain a concept from one of his school projects, I knew he would be a great fit. I’m excited to see him bring his unique perspective and add to the cultural richness of our team. This internship presents a valuable opportunity for both Declan and Circle as we enhance creativity, innovation, and problem-solving within our team. Declan will be supporting several projects, particularly in enabling aircraft autonomy, where Circle is pioneering technologies for intelligent vehicle systems, especially as we look towards the future of flying cars and drones in urban air mobility (UAM).”
Learn more about DeClan Bhagwat.
Meet Rhea Girish Koli, our Strategic Business Analyst Intern. Koli joins us from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School, where she is earning her MS in Business Analytics (MSBA).
Chief Operating Officer, Ian Gauger says, “We are excited to have a graduate of the Simon School of Business join us. Rhea brings a unique skillset to the company and we hope to get a lot out of her time with us this summer.”
We had the opportunity to hear from Rhea about her reasons for joining Circle Optics and her aspirations for her internship.
Born in Florida and raised in Massachusetts, David’s early interest in computers and video games led him to pursue a career in software engineering. His academic path took him to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he just graduated with a BE in Electrical Engineering and a focus on software from Stevens Institute of Technology.
David’s choice of Stevens was influenced by their robust co-op program, which allows students to gain practical experience alongside their academic studies. The five-year program includes four years of coursework and a year of full-time work at different companies. This structure provided David with valuable hands-on experience, preparing him well for his role at Circle Optics.
Chief Technology Officer, Allen Krisiloff explains David’s role at Circle Optics, “His student projects and his part-time jobs helped him to integrate his abstract course work in electronics and software with the challenges of making things work. David effectively understands the interplay of application software, digital hardware, and operating systems.His first tasks at Circle will be to improve the speed of Circle’s 360 video by integrating code with graphical processing units.”
Learn more about David Krauthamer.
Benjamin Margulies, University of Rochester Intern, was a great addition to our dynamic team of imaging and optic expertise.
“Ben came to us ready to make a positive impact on, and contribute to, Circle Optics’ engineering efforts. He was able to grasp our opto-mechanical challenges and join in on the use of complex optical alignment equipment and fixturing. This afforded him the ability to make well-thought-through suggestions for improvements. His abilities go beyond the academics, with practical experience and skills such as mechanical aptitude and dexterity. We could leave him alone with confidence in the work he would do. I appreciated Ben’s sincerity as a person and team member. Jokingly, Ben asks, ‘What are you going to do without me?’ Well, we’ll just call him.” – Mechanical Engineer Bob Stanchus.
Read more about Benjamin Margulies.
