Michele Hinnrichs

Ms. Hinnrichs founded of Pacific Advanced Technology in 1988 and has been involved with the development and commercialization of state of the art infrared sensor system for over 30 years. One commercial product that is a direct result of defense funded R&D is the Sherlock gas imaging and analysis infrared imaging spectrometer. This product is currently being used by the oil, gas, chemical and power industry for fugitive leak detection, quantification, as well as remote emission monitoring and analysis. To better serve the commercial market Pacific Advanced Technology formed a wholly owned subsidiary called Gas Imaging Technology to market the Sherlock in the commercial arena.

Prior to founding Pacific Advanced Technology in 1988 Ms Hinnrichs worked as a physicist at Hughes Aircraft Company from 1977 to 1982 where she was a member of a team of scientist and engineers that developed the very first infrared imaging camera based on CCD and focal plane array technology. It is this same technology that went on to be used in the visible camera systems that can now be found in cell phones. Ms Hinnrichs later joined the Rockwell Science Center from 1982 to 1986 where her principal work was in the field of infrared detector material science. This background gave Ms. Hinnrichs the necessary understanding of the sensor technology that constitutes the heart of the Sherlock imaging spectrometer. In 1987 she joined the advanced programs group of Loral Corporation, Electro-optics Systems Division in Pasadena, California where she was responsible for the business development of all Loral infrared imaging programs.

Ms. Hinnrichs received her B.S. and M.S. in physics from California State University at Northridge. She has published and presented numerous technical papers on the subject of infrared technology and electro-optics. Ms. Hinnrichs also holds four patents for the technology that was developed leading up to the Sherlock imaging spectrometer.