Hi, I’m Andreas. I live in the high desert of New Mexico. In reverse chronological order, my family includes two guinea pigs, a few dozen fish, my son (3), my daughter (5) and my wife/cat. The wife/cat came as a non-negotiable set.
I work in the sector of indoor positioning and in the sub-sector of real-time location systems (RTLS). In this sector, we use sensor networks to determine where things are located inside a building. I work in the sub-sub-sector of clinical RTLS, which focuses on knowing the real-time location of many things (equipment, patients, staff) inside hospitals. My team makes software that is used by hospitals across the country to answer lots of different complex questions. All of these questions point toward the goal of improving patient care.
Prior to this career and in another dimension, I earned a master's degree from UC Berkeley in landscape architecture and founded a professional services firm in San Francisco. My firm worked on projects across the country but mostly in California. We did good work. We had a great team. We won awards. But change happens, and my next act as a family man shifted focus and priorities in ways that were surprising and real. When we moved to be close to extended family, I had an opportunity to pivot into my current work, relying heavily on the core skills that I sharpened running a design firm and growing my interest and aptitude in technology.
Wired & Inspired is my first foray into sharing my thoughts and experiences with a wider community. My posts will mostly focus on technology, with a strong influence from my first career as a designer, and an undercurrent of the types of moral and spiritual questions I find fascinating.
This is generally how I feel about sharing on the internet:
That said, there are a few reasons why I've decided to share my ideas and writing, and I wanted to share those with you:
I have eked out just enough capacity
I've spent the past few years bringing kids into the world, making a big career change and moving to be close to extended family. Like all of us, I have stumbled through the impossible choices required by the pandemic. Now that things have settled a bit, I find myself with just enough spare time, along with a strong desire to share with others. Professionally, I feel confident about my contributions and knowledge, freeing me (mostly) from the imposter syndrome that has kept me from sharing my thoughts previously.
It feels important
Over the years, I've experienced positivity from sharing my work with others. I've made new friends, gained interesting and thought-provoking perspectives (and criticism!), and been inspired by other people. When possible, I’ve made IRL friendships out of virtual ones. I want to contribute to this positive cycle of sharing and learning.
I have a deep backlog
I've been writing privately for years, but I've never shared my work with a wider audience. I’d like to put this content out into the world – not just for display, but for dialogue. I hope that my experiences and insights can help or inspire others, personally or professionally.
I care about more than just technology
While I work in technology, I find that there are many links and overlaps with other things I care about. I'm interested in spirituality, psychology, how we teach and accomplish design, and the importance of communication and collaboration to solve complex problems with high-quality solutions. I hope to explore these topics more deeply in my writing and offer some off-beat observations and interesting ideas that might be valuable to readers.
I'm (mostly) enthusiastic and optimistic
Despite all the challenges we face as a society, I'm enthusiastic and generally optimistic about how technology can be designed to solve our growing list of complex problems. From compassionate healthcare solutions to bold climate action, I am hopeful that properly designed technology solutions can make a positive difference in the world.
Technology solutions also require non-technical skills
A common misconception inside tech is that data or logic can stand on its own as an answer and a change driver. This simply isn’t the case, and I’ve witnessed the opposite in every project I’ve worked on across two sectors. I want to explore these skills more deeply and share my insights with others.
I'm excited to take this step and start sharing my experiences and insights with a wider audience. I hope that my work can help others who are going through similar personal or professional challenges, and that we can all learn and grow together.
What do you think? What questions, ideas, or feedback came up for you? You are hereby invited to read and share!