About

Backpacking - Quinault Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA. Photo: Brendan Murphy @ https://www.brendanpmurphy.org/

About the photographer

It's hard to plan a career, so just work hard and enjoy the journey . . .

Sean started his career alongside his wife (also a geologist), drilling for base metal sulfides in a Texas salt dome for the minerals division of Marathon Petroleum. When the mining industry slumped, his science background and persistence enabled a fortuitous career segue into semiconductors. After 20+ exciting years at Motorola and SEMATECH [an Austin-based semiconductor research institute] he left to manage (from initiation) the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC). At this University of Texas-based, multi-million dollar consortium, he put together a team and organizational structure that sponsored collaborative research projects to develop subsurface geologic sensors using nano-scale materials and technology. Breaking down ivory towers and facilitating multi-disciplinary, multi-university teams was extraordinarily rewarding. He's now encouraging earth science students at Austin Community College, leading fitness classes at the YMCA, and escaping outdoors whenever possible with his wife, one of his three sons, or his dog Callie. Sean attended the College of William & Mary (BS), the University of Georgia (MS), and the University of Texas at Austin (MBA). Sean's photo website