George Coles is a Process Engineer and Project Manager presently serving as the Group Supervisor for 60 electrical/electronic technicians and engineers in the RED Department of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).  He is experienced in process development in the field of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication; medical device research and development of silicon-based devices for passive pressure monitoring; as well as the design and fabrication of stem cell bioreactors.

George’s research and process development work has produced 10+ issued patents and several awards.  He is an APL Master Inventor and is LUMA certified as a Human-Centered Design practitioner. In addition to his technical activities, he serves as a Project Manager currently managing projects valued at ~ $1.5 million. He has contributed to APL’s people proposition in a number of roles including as a member of the Diversity counsel.

Prior to joining APL, George worked as a Sr. Laboratory Coordinator in the mechanical engineering department of the Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus. He performed mechanical testing and data analysis of thin films used in MEMS technology. In addition to his research projects, he was the group leader on a several million-dollar DARPA grant and co-authored papers in peer-reviewed journals. 

While at the Shiners’ Hospital, George was a motion engineer performing 3-D image analyses of the gait of children with Cerebral Palsy and collaborating with their surgeons for surgical and post-operative care plans. Lastly, while serving as a Lt(jg) in the NOAA Corp and assigned to the Space Environmental Labs in Boulder, Colorado, George made space weather-related recommendations affecting the Space Shuttle mission launches; analyzed solar radiation data; and served as the NASA liaison Officer and team manager.