Many craftsmen are often neglected. Little thought is given to the "behind the scenes" work in a project. When watching a play, the focus of the audience is not on how the scenery was constructed, but on the actual performance.
In his thirty-sixth year as the principal lab technician, Severin J. Ritchie II is indeed one of these craftsmen. Sev (as he likes to be called) has often been "behind the scenes" in many projects. As a machinist, Sev's work goes well beyond that of a skilled worker; he also acts as a technical consultant.
"Sev helps in the designing of a project. With all of his experience as a technician, he knows just by looking at a design whether or not it can be completed," Professor Goloski of the physics department commented. Sev's work includes support for projects from the physics, electrical engineering, bio-med, and biology departments. These projects are as varied as the students doing them. In each project, Sev helps to machine the parts that play an integral role in the final product.
Some examples of the parts that Sev has completed are: lens holders for lasers, precision couplings and joints, high powered electro-magnets, and vacuum apparatus for making freeze dried food. Another larger project which Sev helped to make possible was one directed by Professor Goloski. This was a proton microbeam which fires protons at targets and acts similarly to a scanning x-ray microscope. It allows its operators to determine such minute details as the atomic number of object that the microbeam is aimed at. To make something so exact as this, much precision must be used to make the parts. Many of the couplings and boxes used for this project had to be custom made with extreme precision.
To attain this type of precision, Sev works many of his hours on a digital milling machine called "The Green Artificer." Sev explained the name of the machine as one proposed to him by a professor friend that came back after retirement. The name artificer means skilled worker [of metals], and when it was purchased, the machine was christened with a bottle of wine. The cork and wine glass from that day still lie on top of the hulking green machine which sits in a position of honor in the center of the shop.
Sev's time here is not known by all, but those that do know him always greet him with a smile and a wave. He waves back and exchanges the latest news as the days problems gradually are solved by Sev on The Green Artificer.