I've built an online store for a lot of cool stuff that I no longer use what can I do for you today? Javascript-based Random Observation Generator Online Projects

Joe Breskin Works!

My role in life appears to center around matching existing and emerging technologies to real world needs.

Sometimes this has involved finding tools and figuring out how to use them.

Other times it has involved imagining new tools and figuring out how to build them.


Robert Force photo - Links to Envirosearch Website

I have assembled teams and tools to connect technologies to market needs, lead efforts that developed tools to help teachers find resources and build communities online and pioneered the application of internet tools to the needs of blind students.

I have taught secondary wood-products manufacturers to use information technology to increase profitability and scalability, taught users to overcome fear and utilize application software and networks effectively, designed and marketed shrink-wrap software, and designed production machinery and production lines.

Most importantly, I have designed and assembled teams in the hope of accomplishing more through coordinated effort than I can on my own.
My diverse career paths all share a common thread. They all involve putting appropriate tools and an understanding of how to use them into the hands of people who generally know what they want to do, but do not necessarily know how to do it. This was every bit as true in the technology transfer work as it was in manufacturing or negotiating multiparty agreements to protect the City's watershed.


RECENT ACTIVITIES

Present - March 1999:   E-Rate Funding/Telecommunications Consultant. Local School Districts

Present - Feb 1992 - Principal Joe Breskin Design / :EnviroSearch Port Townsend., WA 

In 2006-2007 Joe Breskin Design developed manufacturing prototype (Design for Manufacture) of a 3 phase motor controller to directly power large electric motors off single-phase power w/o requiring rotary phase congerter. Prototype device shipped and was intalled, and several devices were built from this design.
In 2007 Joe Breskin Design began construction of large scale integrated computer model of an energy efficient small house manufacturing system targetting affordable housing needs, based on heat capture and recovery tecvhnologies. After nearly 3 years of ongoing developemnt the computer model is reaching prototype construction / validation stage.

Feb 2006 - August 2006  - Interim Director Economic Development Council of Jefferson County Port Townsend, WA

Feb. 2003   - July 1999: Staff Scientist, Information System Development Consultant, Beach Process Research, USDA Proposal Development. D & A Instrument Company

May - August 1999: Acquisition Research, Information and Proposal Development  Consultant. Jefferson County Washington.

May - July 1999: Endangered Salmon Website Development  Washington State University.

March 1997 - September: 1999: Incorporation Feasibility Analyst. Tri-Area, East Jefferson County, Washington.

December 1998 - March 1999   -Market Research Consultant Ben Franklin Technology Partners

December 1998 - Feb 1999   - Market Research Consultant, Ciencia, Inc.


CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

Nov 1998 - Oct 1995: C.T.O., Foresight Science & Technology.

Core activity: Design and development of an Intranet-based market research consulting business, client-product development, and development of design-specifications for various web-based data-mining and report publishing system involving bi-directional (typically client-server) web-based access to SQL databases.

Responsibilities:

  • Corporate management
  • Development of new products and services
  • Development of Project Proposals
  • Customer Services - Technical marketing
  • Customer Services - Technology Substitution/Market Trends Assessments

1985 - 1991: C.F.O, G.M. Seven Seas Software, MathVision, Inc. Port Townsend, WA

developed and published Euclid Graphics (CADD language) Doug's Math Acquarium and finally MathVision - a language-based scientific visualization software product used in industry and education to make mathematical relationships visible.

1976 - 1989: General Manager, Seven Seas Boatworks,Inc. Port Townsend, WA

Yacht Design and custom boat building - Custom fabrication job-shop wide range of composite materials. In late 1980's I designed and manufactured composite Grand Piano and Sea Kayaks that are still in daily use.



CONSULTING

1995 - 1996:Under Contract to Foresight Science & Technology.Funded by US Dept of Ed

Development of curriculum and online training course (and software and hardware)to demonstrate the potential of internet-based science education for blind students. Blind students were taught to develop hypotheses, mathematical models of increasing complexity, and publish scientific papers. Mentors were employed to review individual student's work by E-mail. The fundamentals of stormwater modeling were used as the project focus.

1995:Under Contract to Foresight Science & Technology. Funded by USDA / USDEA
Development of curriculum, textbook, and training course to teach the fundamentals of concurrent engineering and market-driven product development to secondary wood products manufacturers. Textbook is online
Click here to Access Document

1994 - 1995:Consultant: under Contract to CH2M Hill, Bellevue, WA.Funded by City of Port Townsend
Water resource planning for Comprehensive Water Plan Update, Continued Development of City of Port Townsend GIS

1993 - 1994: Under Contract to City of Port Townsend.

  • Develop 'water reservation system' to address water availibility problems.
  • Develop 'external' models of City's Budget and CIP.
  • Develop 'computer literacy' program for city staff.
  • Implement public works computer network.
  • Develop needs assessment Fleet Maintenance System.
  • Coordinate effforts to develop mapping and facilities inventory in GIS.
  • Research contract obligations, legal history and capacity of City of PT's water system.
  • Finalize City-USFS-DOH Cooperative Watershed Management Plan and agreements.

1991 - 1993 Funded by City of Port Townsend
Develop strategy to avoid filtration requirement. Draft and negotiate Cooperative Watershed Management Plan and agreements with USFS and WSDOH.



PRO BONO ACTIVITIES


I have invested tens of thousands of hours in community efforts related to managing growth and maintaining environmental quality. For the past few years I have stepped back from the front-lines and struggled with the realization that much of the effort expended by NGOs and non-profits is wasted through inefficiency, lack of coordination of efforts, and "reinventing the wheel" by people who understand the immediate problem but rarely have the experience to be inventing long-term solutions to them. Most of the Pro-Bono work I have done lately attempts to integrate activities and information management so that data collected by agencies and non-profits is compatible and accessible, and so that timing of one group's effort does not undermine the effectiveness of another's project or destroy its data.



CIVIC ACTIVITIES


present - 1994: Volunteer / Technical Advisor/Building Inspector. Oregon Country Fair

Oregon Country Fair is a temporary village of approximately 20,000 people. Each year before the fair opens I oversee repairs and project-manage approximately 50 major booth remodeling projects - from design review to materials acquisition and logistics, to final sign off. This process involves design and construction of health department required drain-fields for food booths and coordination with State Archeologist, because a great deal of the Fair's site is scattered with "no dig zones" due to archeological sites dating back 11,000 years. Prior to this role I ran a very high level science show at the Fair called "Plants have Sex" based on what I could demonstrate about pollination and pollinators using my personal collection of vintage stereo microscopes.

present - 1993: Pro Bono Consultant / Technical advisor. North Olympic Salmon Coalition

1999 - 1993: Pro Bono Consultant / Technical Advisor. Jefferson County Water Resources Council

1996 - 1994: Pro Bono Consultant / Technical Advisor Irondale Incorporation Effort (ICAN)

ICAN is a citizen-led effort to gain Incorporation for the community of Hadlock - Irondale, WA

1995 - 1991: City of Port Townsend USFS Watershed Advisory Committee.

1995 - 1994: WoodNet, Port Angeles, WA.

1994 - 1990: Quilcene Ancient Forest Coalition, timber sale monitoring program

1994 - 1991: Chelan Agreement (Dungeness-Qulicene Pilot Program) Technical Advisory Committee

1996 - 1994: Indian Island Superfund . Rehabilitation Advisory Board (RAB) OEC

1994 - 1992: Indian Island Superfund Site Hazard Evaluation, OEC

1994 - 1991: GMA Task Forces and Citizen Advisory Committees

1993 - 1991: IDMS Task Force, Citizen Advisor on interagency GIS development team.

1992 - 1989: Co-Teacher, Outdoor Recreation/Winter Mountaineering, Chimacum High School, Chimacum School District, Chimacum, WA.



MAGAZINE ARTICLES

— "Damned if you do, dammed if you don't"

Report on efforts to remove the dams on the Elwha River

Peninsula Magazine, Sept. 1990

— "Watershed Management in the Olympic National Forest"

The Port Townsend Leader, 1991

Snow

A report on physics of snowfall and winter ecology

Peninsula Magazine, Jan. 1991

FERC Efforts to mitigate or remove the dams on the Elwha River>

Washington Trout Magazine, Sept. 1992


BOOKS AUTHORED

"Cooperative Watershed Management Plan for the Big and Little Quilcene Rivers Watersheds"

A source book on the geology, ecology and development history of the Big and Little Quilcene Watersheds. Produced in cooperation with USDAFS-ONF, under contract to City of Port Townsend and CH2M Hill, 1992 -1994

"Computers in Manufacturing - Design Manual


REPORTS FOR CLIENTS

"Booth Construction and Maintenance Manual 2002-2004," A "smart building code" for The Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, Oregon, 2002.

— "Seismic Hazard Assessment, Downtown buildings, Port Townsend, Washington" Proprietary Report for anonymous customer, 2001.

— "Water Supply Options for East Jefferson County," Report and Public presentation for Jefferson County PUD#1, 2001.

— "Market Growth Projections and Other Factors Affecting Valuation of a Manufacturing Business," Report to support acquisition for anonymous investor, 2000.

"Chimacum Creek Estuary Acqusition," slide show and presentation to support acquisition of estuary land for habitat and park, funded by Jefferson County, 2000

— "Development of a Multianalyte Biosensor Instrument," Proprietary Report for Enviro. Technologies Group, Inc., Baltimore, MD, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "The Development of a Biodegradable Hydraulic Fluid," Proprietary Report for Material Innovation, Inc., Leonia, NJ, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "Conversion of Paper-Mill Sludge into Pelletized, Composite Activated Sorbent," Proprietary Report for MBR Research. Inc., Princeton, NJ, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "Sensors for Metal Vapor and VOC Emissions," Proprietary Report for Nanomaterials Research Corp., Tucson, AZ, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "Automated Separation of Post-Consumer Polymer Flake" Proprietary Report for National Recovery Technologies, Inc., Nashville, TN, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "Market Assessment on a Thin Film Hydrogen Sensor," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment on a Fiber Optic Raman Probe," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment for JPEG Compression," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment for JPEG Compression," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment of Optical Routers," Proprietary Report for Macro Vision, Boulder, CO, 1997.

— "Market Assessment of Radiation Curing Pigmented Coatings," Proprietary Report for Spectra Group and the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA, 1996.

— "Market Assessment of Mercury Sensor," Proprietary Report for Consultec Corp., Oak Ridge, TN, 1997.

with Stan Goddard.

— "Market Assessment of Digital Radiography Device," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment of Mercury Detection Microcantilever" Proprietary Report for CONSULTEC, Knoxville, TN, 1996.

with Mary L. Hilts.

— "Testing a New Separation Device for Sorting Recycled Plastic Chips Based on Differences in Specific Gravity," Proprietary Report for MBA Polymers, Inc., Richmond, CA, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

with Phyl Speser

— "Particulate and Vapor State Metallic Emissions Monitor," Proprietary Report for EEI, Pluckemin, NJ, under contract to the U.S. EPA, 1998.

— "Market Assessment of Digital Radiography in Food Processing," Proprietary Report for Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Savannah River, GA, 1997.

— "Market Assessment of Optical Router," Proprietary Report for Macro-Vision Communications, LLC, Boulder, CO, 1997.

— "Market Assessment of High-Display VLSI Smart Display," Proprietary Report for Optron Systems Inc., Bedford, MA, 1996.

— "Final Report to Dubbs and Severino on Markets for GPS-Based Precision Navigation," Proprietary Report funded by Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Final Report to Material Sciences on Markets for Non-Destructive Test of Thermal Damage in Composites," Proprietary Report funded by Office of NavalResearch, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Final Report to Spectra Group on Markets for Visible Light Cure Photoinitiator," Proprietary Report funded by Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Final Report to Xemet on Markets for Non-Cavitating Valves," Proprietary Report funded by Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Final Report to Navmar Applied Sciences on Markets for Vibration Measurement," Proprietary Report funded by Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Final Report to Optron Systems on Markets for Liquid Crystal Displays," Proprietary Report funded by Office of Naval Research, Washington, DC, 1996.

— "Phase I DoED SBIR Final Report," Report for U.S. Department of Education, 1996.

with Ben Kizer, District Ranger, Olympic National Forest

M.O.U implementing plan for the Cooperative Management of the Big and Little Quilcene Rivers, WA

with Rick Sepler, Madrona Planning and Development

— "Groundwater Modeling Plan, East Jefferson County, Washington,"

based on assessment of available information and well logs

with Bob Wheeler, Public Works Director, City of Port Townsend, WA

1993 Public Works Budget, City of Port Townsend, WA

1993 City of Port Townsend Capital Improvements Plan

1993 City of Port Townsend Budget Model - A working multidiminsional Spreadsheet model of a complex budget

City Vehicle Fleet Maintenance and Depreciation Needs Assessment and Action Plan

with Dave Young, Jefferson County IDMS

GIS Needs Assessment, budget and Implementation Plan, Jefferson County IDMS

GIS Metadata format, Jefferson County IDMS


MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT TO DATE


Between 1990 and 1993, I developed the concept, researched the options and requirements and achieved binding Tri-Party MOU agreement between state and federal agencies allowing the City of Port Townsend to meet USDA-FS, US-EPA and Washington State DOH requirements for watershed protection. This provided a documented saving of over $6,000,000 - probably over $10,000,000 - to the 10,000 rate payers dependent on the Quilcene Rivers Watersheds for domestic and industrial water supply.
The key realization that made this possible was recognizing that the EPA's requirement for "Locked Gates" to control access to the watershed could be achieved with gates that were always locked, but were locked in the "open" position under normal circumstances.