# An Interview with Jonathan Ellis

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2016-01-23
- Length: 1h 40m
- Episode: 283
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/283-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis/

## Summary

Jonathan Ellis, an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, discusses the realities of the tenure track, including the heavy burden of grant writing and the opaque criteria for promotion. He details his work in precision instrumentation, specifically using laser interferometry to measure semiconductor wafer stages with sub-nanometer accuracy. Ellis also explains his involvement with NIST in redefining the kilogram via the watt balance and the challenges of measuring the refractive index of air.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=0) Introduction and Academic Life
- [8:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=483) The Tenure Track and Grant Funding
- [37:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=2223) Precision Instrumentation and Wafer Stages
- [41:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=2481) Laser Interferometry and Metrology
- [1:06:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=4019) Redefining the Kilogram: The Watt Balance
- [1:22:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis#t=4927) Academic Publishing and Career Advice

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- University of Rochester (company)
- NIST (company)
- IBM (company)
- National Science Foundation (company)
- watt balance (tool)
- laser interferometer (tool)
- iodine stabilized laser (tool)
- Avogadro sphere (tool)
- arXiv (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S4E35 Shawn Patterson | Interferometers, Lasers, & Not Panicking](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-09-15-s4e35-shawn-patterson-interferometers-lasers-not-panicking) (Being an Engineer)
- [Ep 217: The Unintentional Space and 3D Printing Episode](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-05-ep-217-the-unintentional-space-and-3d-printing-episode-eaccf4fe) (Hackaday Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-01-23-an-interview-with-jonathan-ellis. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.