Danny (Dan) Nightingale

After serving as an Adjunct part-time instructor for 15 years (2018-2023), I joined the CCC faculty full-time in August 2023. In this role, I teach various courses in the Electrical Technology Program, including ELEC-1010 Electricity, ELEC-1500 Solid State Electronics, ELEC-2000 Electrical Construction, ELEC-2010 Linear Electronics, and ELEC-2070 Data Acquisition.

• Besides teaching classes and labs, I have devoted a great deal of time to re-writing much of the curriculum I teach in order to better leverage technology and create more dynamic and engaging lessons for today's students.
• I took the initiative to conduct a thorough inventory of all materials on hand, and to dispose of outdated parts and test-equipment and replace it with modern test equipment and tools that better reflect those tools graduates will find in the typical workplace.
• I am currently in the process of assisting with creating a curriculum for a new program in Fiber Optics coming online in the next 18 months.
• I am in the process of creating an online/hybrid version of the ELEC-1010 course in order to better accommodate the needs of local industry by offering more flexible access to classroom instruction for full-time employees.
• I promote a positive learning environment by establishing clear expectations and maintaining consistent classroom management techniques.
• I regularly track student progress, frequently checking in with struggling students and identifying root causes of problems.
• I work to improve student performance by providing individualized support and targeted feedback.
• I try to optimize day-to-day instruction to align educational strategies with industry best practices, ensuring lessons are relevant.
• I review class and student records to identify improvement opportunities.
• I regularly strive to enhance classroom collaboration through the implementation of group projects and team-building activities, encouraging students to pair up while solving problems in class and carefully monitoring lab pairings to ensure the optimum learning experience for both students.

In my role as a Systems Control and Software Engineer, I collaborated with a directorate of 100-120 scientists, engineers and technicians to build, upgrade and maintain numerous software solutions used by the Characterization Sciences directorate at Corning's Sullivan Park Research and Development facility. This work entailed constant interaction with personnel throughout the directorate in order to better understand their processes and how they could be automated to streamline them and reduce errors, in order to ensure that the directorate provided the most accurate data possible, in the most timely manner to members of the Research and Development communities, as well as to our global manufacturing facilities. Among my daily responsibilities, I:

• Analyzed proposed technical solutions based on customer requirements.
• Developed scalable and maintainable code, ensuring long-term stability of the software.
• Collaborated with fellow engineers to evaluate software and hardware interfaces.
• Collaborated with management, internal and development partners regarding software application design status and project progress.
• Increased code quality and reduced bug rates by establishing comprehensive unit and integration testing protocols.
• Developed reusable components that significantly reduced development effort on multiple projects.
• Established efficient communication channels within the team, leading to better collaboration among members during project development phases.
• Enhanced user experience with intuitive interface design and responsive web applications.

In this role, I worked as a fundamental research technician, focusing primarily on operating and maintaining a fiber optic coupler draw. I reported to several Research Scientists on a team tasked with developing and refining the process of creating fiber optic couplers, a device used to couple light signals from one optical fiber into one or more additional fibers. The work required strict attention to detail and meticulous note/record keeping. All lab notes and data had to be maintained to strict legal standards so that documentation could be used in patent applications and defenses. While serving in this role, I was a credited contributor on two Patents awarded to Corning.

• Actively participated in lab meetings, sharing knowledge and expertise to foster a collaborative research atmosphere.
• Assisted in the development of novel research methodologies, leading to breakthrough discoveries and publications.
• Maintained a safe and organized laboratory environment, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and best practices.

In this role, I worked first as a Branch Service Manager, responsible for maintaining floor care products from various manufacturers, and then as a Division Service Manager, where I supervised all of the branch service managers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, require travel and communication with employees over a 3,500 square mile region.

• Resolved customer complaints in professional and timely manner.
• Completed numerous manufacturer specific training courses in order to provide expert repairs and maintenance on each year's newest products, with a focus on electrical motor repair and maintenance.
• Supported a sales staff of 10-15 personnel, providing technical expertise and timely customer service.
• Met with customers to discuss service needs and offer available solutions.
• Resolved escalated customer complaints professionally, turning potentially negative experiences into opportunities for continued patronage.
• Hired, trained and supervised a division of branch service managers to meet business goals.

In this role, I advanced from E-1 to E-6 over a period of 6 years. My primary role aboard my first ship (U.S.S. Coral Sea CV-43) was Electronics Technician, maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing one of the ship's Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems.

This was a demanding position, often working 12+ hours non-stop to troubleshoot and repair equipment vital to the ship's ability to carry out her primary mission of safely launching and recovering aircraft and their crews. It required tenacity, creativity and a thorough understanding of electronics in general, and specifically radar and communications principles.

From the Coral Sea, I transferred to the Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) where I was part of the original crew, responsible for working closely with numerous trades of the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. to ensure that all electronic systems were operating at 100% when the Navy accepted the ship from the shipyard.

After serving aboard Lincoln for 2 + years, I transferred to the Eisenhower (CVN-69) where I assumed responsibilities as the Work Center Supervisor (WCS) for the ATC Radar work-center. In this role, I supervised 15 other electronics technicians, responsible for maintenance, calibration, troubleshooting and repair of all five of the ship's ATC systems.

My last assignment in the Navy was as an Instructor at Fleet Training Center Norfolk, VA, where I taught in the 2M (Micro-Miniature Repair) program. In this role, I was responsible for teaching several of the different courses developed to train fleet technicians to make repairs to printed circuit boards underway when replacements were not readily available. This involved teaching student to make repairs to printer circuit boards under a video-equipped microscope, to a set of standards developed by NASA.