Jul 28, 2008 : Franek Technologies Welcomes John Pickert, Bringing Forensic Power Expertise to Consulting Team
From the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Forensic Biology Laboratory of New York City, responsible for the operational integration of nearly 100 key DNA analysis instruments, John Pickert joins the Franek Technologies Applications Engineering and Consulting Group.
Tustin, CA – Franek Technologies, Inc., the leader in certified Category III-3 Laboratory Battery Backup Power Protection Systems (LPS/UPS), is pleased to welcome John Pickert to its Business Development and Consulting staff. Pickert comes to Franek Technologies from the City of New York’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Forensic Biology Laboratory where he was the Technical Administrator and New Building Project Manager for its new $250 million DNA Laboratory. At Franek Technologies, Pickert will have the opportunity to use his business and scientific experiences, as an end user criminalist and laboratory project manager, to assist genomic/proteomic clients in selecting the most appropriate power protection systems for their existing and planned laboratory expansion projects.
Pickert began his career performing DNA analysis on evidence from criminal investigations and working directly with NYC’s famed Cold Case Unit. His exceptional abilities soon led to his promotion as Project Manager for the Chief Medical Examiner New Building Project. Over the next two years, John worked closely with the architects and laboratory planners on all aspects of laboratory design, facilities support, and staffing. The challenges of the $250M project were immense and allowed him to learn first-hand the importance of protecting all critical instrumentation with supplemental power protection, as well as the value of Franek Technologies applications expertise.
Once the new laboratory was up and running, one series of instruments, the real-time PCR, began producing unpredictable results and inconsistent data. Even though they were one of the few instrument types not protected by a Franek Technologies LPS system, Pickert was assured that the central building UPS was working properly and was sufficient to protect the instrument from power-related interference. Working with Franek Technologies’ Applications Engineering and Consulting Group, who helped him rule out a whole list of other possible causes, it was eventually determined that, in fact, power fluctuations were the cause. Once Franek Technologies' LPS Battery Backup Systems were configured and installed for the real-time PCR instruments, data began to show dramatic improvement, proving to Pickert again the value Franek Technologies adds to any laboratory running sensitive instrumentation.
John will bring his DNA and proteomics laboratory management experience to raise the bar another level in our commitment to provide the highest quality of customer support and consulting engineering. His first-hand experience with the operational requirements of laboratory instrumentation, his unusual experience as Project Manager for building a new laboratory, and his troubleshooting experience in power-related issues for the laboratory will be terrific assets for our customers, clients, and international business partners.
Pickert received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, VA, and his M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Rochester, NY.
Franek Technologies, Inc. specializes in providing Laboratory Productivity/Protection Systems (LPS/UPS) for analytical, diagnostics, forensic, life-science, pharmaceutical and biotechnology instrumentation systems applications. Its certified uninterruptible battery backup power sources for laboratory and instrumentation applications protect over $3 billion in laboratory assets worldwide. The company’s power engineers have developed LPS/UPS products for over 1,500 instrumentation applications, from more than 80 manufacturers, to meet US Government power requirements. For more information, call (800) 326-6480 or visit www.franek.com.
