Bio
Joel has been enamored with electronic art for most of his life. After spending 11 1/2 years at SparkFun Electronics building an impressive skill and project portfolio, he moved to Santa Fe to be a part of the magic that was Meow Wolf. As a Coloradan, Joel was set on being a part of the Denver Exhibit after a visit to the House of Eternal Return. Once at Meow Wolf, he worked to become a Senior Tech Fabricator, setting the standard for custom electronics and printed circuit boards (PCBs). Joel worked on several technical aspects of many of the projects that went into both the Denver and Las Vegas Exhibits including designing, soldering, engineering, wiring, and building/testing custom PCBs. Joel also helped Meow Wolf comply with technical inspections in both exhibits and was a part of the Denver install team. He now works on the Platform Services Team to help bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital world to create compelling experiences for people of all walks of life.
In his spare time, Joel enjoys aquaponic and hydroponic gardening and farming. He has a degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture from SFCC. His future aspirations are to work in agricultural technology to help the world farm smarter and use resources more efficiently.
The Real Unreal
Software Engineer
Convergence Station
Senior Technical Fabricator
Though Joel contributed to many projects in Convergence Station, his favorite contribution was the Star Field located in the Numina swamp. The Star Field was one of the first projects Joel began work on once he arrived at Meow Wolf. The goal was to have all the stars/planets have LEDs that were many tens of feet apart but were all on the same communication line. Joel developed a custom LED PCB that used differential signaling to allow the addressable LED signal to transmit long distances in between the stars and provided DC voltage regulation at each star to allow for higher voltage lines traveling to each star and preventing voltage drop. The end result is a magnificent display of LEDs scattered throughout hundreds of stars in the swamp, all with the potential to light in unison.
Projects
Omega Mart
Senior Technical Fabricator
Though Joel contributed his work to many projects in Omega Mart, his favorite contribution was the B.L.O.B.S. Brainwash room located in the Factory. Conceptualized by Alan Watts and Lance McGoldrick, the BLOBS Brainwash room consists of a brain that pulls source from the guests and captures it for use by Dramcorp. This project was fabricated during the Covid 19 pandemic lock down. Joel remembers working on BLOBS from home during the lock down and how much fun it was to still get to continue working on such a unique project during a bleak time. The main challenge was fitting a large amount of electronics into a small space to allow for optimal LED goodness. Though challenging, the end result was well worth all the work.