Doug Toomey
Instrumentation Engineer
University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy

Watch a video where Doug talks about why he enjoys building telescope equipment

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What he does
Doug designs and builds infrared cameras and other instruments for large telescopes.

How he got into science
Doug started by ripping apart things like broken TVs and stereos to see what was inside. Eventually he learned how to put them back together and get them to work.

Favorite accomplishment
Doug built a coronagraphic camera to look for planets around other stars. A coronagraphic camera blocks the light around bright things so we can see faint things that otherwise wouldn't be visible.

In his free time
Doug grows fruit trees, hikes in the mountains, reads and plays with his dogs.

Quote
"If this stuff was easy anyone could do it."