Mitchell Lienert

Background

About Mitchell Lienert

Hey there! My name is Mitch Lienert, and I'm not your typical optical engineer. As a kid, my fascination with engineering started with a rather unconventional passion for 2% milk from Smiling Hills Farms. Not for its taste or bone-strengthening benefits, but because each bottle was worth $2 at the redemption center. My brother and I saved those bottles religiously, cashing them out every two weeks, leading to our post-redemption ritual which involved a sprint to the Target LEGO section—a reward for our hard-earned efforts. This early interest in LEGOs turned out to be the perfect outlet for my engineering itch, preventing me from disassembling and reassembling every gadget in the house (my parents banned me from that). Fast forward to today, I have completed a Bachelor of Science in Optical Engineering at the University of Rochester, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering and Classics. My journey has taken me to exciting places, from interning at L3Harris Technologies in electro-optical engineering, conducting high-energy-density-physics research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, to developing opto-mechanical assemblies at KLA Corp. I look forward to the next chapter of my career post-graduation where I will be completing a master's degree in optical engineering while working for KLA in Ann Arbor, MI. If you share a love for milk or an interest in optics, let's connect and chat about the exciting world of engineering!