#SoCaltech: Rich Abbott

“I have been drawing every day for many years, but I still don’t feel like an expert. I don’t know that anybody ever truly is. The better you get at a skill, the better you get at seeing your flaws. Developing a skill is a never-ending cycle if perfection is your goal. It’s more fun to suspend the notion of being an expert and immerse yourself in the crazy confusion of trying to deeply understand something.”

—Rich Abbott, an engineer for the Laser-Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), whose drawing skills have helped inform his engineering designs during his three decades of service to Caltech. He is retiring today, Friday, February 10.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.