Andy was born in Helena, Montana and received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science with an Artificial Intelligence emphasis from the University of Montana. After several long bicycle rides, a year at a bakery, and many hours looking for birds in swamps, he joined the Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory.
At the observatory, Andy worked to develop new camera technologies to directly observe extrasolar planets, including an adaptive control loop for a nulling interferometer and control systems for infrared cameras. Continuing in astronomical instrumentation, he spent two years in Cape Town working with the South African Astronomical Observatory.
Andy returned to the US and joined Synapse in 2011. He has written firmware for tiny battery powered devices and for heavy machinery the size of a truck. He is still amazed by the variety of things you can do by flipping a single bit.
