Biographies
Chip Gracey - President and Chief Scientist
Chip is the self-trained integrated circuit designer and the leader of Parallax Semiconductor’s R&D efforts. In his 30 years of experience Chip has truly developed many well-known products: the first popular PIC programmers and emulators, the BASIC Stamp, key contributions of the Ubicom SX chip, and of course the Propeller. Chip’s designs encompass simplicity and engineering accuracy every step of the process, resulting in devices that customers enjoy using in their own products. His efforts reflect the core Parallax Semiconductor values of designing with creative leaps and sometimes a jettison of past experience to produce a product several generations ahead of what users might expect.
Ken Gracey - Vice President
Ken Gracey manages the daily operations and strategy of Parallax Semiconductor. With over 15 years of experience in the industry he aims to keep the focus on a growing set of entrepreneurial applications, design-in customer support, and efficient operations that ensure stock and timely delivery. Ken has contributed to every department at Parallax Semiconductor in one way or another and is an expert at making sure all departments work efficiently and well with one another. As the internal tone-setter of Parallax Semiconductor, Ken conveys a mix of serious business with a focus on life balance.
Beyond Parallax Semiconductor Ken’s business background includes international sales, electronics manufacturing, Asian sourcing, marketing partnerships, supply-side optimization and extensive experience in materials resource planning and procurement. Ken is a graduate of the University of California, Davis with degrees in environmental science and chemistry.
Lauren Davis - Marketing Manager
Lauren Davis is responsible for Parallax Semiconductor online customer websites and communication tools, managing E-commerce, forecasting, packaging design, distributor communication, pricing, showcasing customer success stories, advertising, and creating the Parallax Semiconductor brand. Lauren works closely with all departments at Parallax Semiconductor to bring new products to market and to distribute information to our customers. Lauren holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California in Communications and an M.B.A from Claremont Graduate University.
Jen Fearn - Inventory and Warehouse Manager
For over twelve years Jen Fearn has been a consistent contributor to our behind-the-scenes operation. Out of school Jen’s first job at Parallax was to manually test and program thousands of chips a day. Today her role at Parallax Semiconductor is to run our warehouse, kitting, and shipping and manage all aspects of our Rocklin and Asian physical inventories. Her history at Parallax proves useful in all of our new projects, helping us get the job accomplished right the first time. Jen feels a special connection to our customers and has pride in our packaging and final presentation.
Jessica Uelmen - Engineering Manager
Jessica Uelmen got her start at Parallax in 2009 in the Education department training teachers how to use microcontrollers and robotics in the classroom. Today Jessica oversees the Engineering team and manages new products from concept through production, ensuring they are cohesively designed to provide our customers with the best Parallax Semiconductor has to offer. Jessica’s background includes a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with a Computer Systems specialty from the University of Central Florida. She is currently pursuing a Master of Engineering degree in professional practice through the University of Wisconsin.
Daniel Harris - Application Engineer
Daniel Harris is a recent member of Parallax Semiconductor. Daniel’s experience with the Propeller began long before his employment. His Propeller chip expertise helps with supporting high volume customers with their projects, writing and reviewing application notes, managing the Gold Object program, and porting customer software designs to the Propeller. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of North Texas and is currently completing his thesis for his master's degree from the University of North Texas.
Jeff Martin - Application Engineer
Jeff Martin is both an FAE and a Sr. Software Engineer for Parallax Semiconductor. He has been a key contributor at Parallax for over ten years. He is a Propeller expert and a key Propeller contributor. His duties include software design, technical material authoring, handling customer inquiries, maintaining hardware and software, and consulting for Tech Support and Engineering. Over the years Jeff has been responsible for software tools, such as the Propeller Tool software, key printed and on-line materials, and hardware maintenance for core product lines. Jeff collaborates closely with the Propeller Research and Development Group, maintaining a complete product line from hardware to software and documentation. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a focus on system's software.
Beau Schwabe - Field Application Engineer
Beau Schwabe is responsible for IC Layout for Parallax Semiconductor as well as research and development for the Propeller 2, currently in development. Beau has been an active contributor to the Parallax forums since 1992 and has multiple patents and experience working in R&D, where he incorporated several BASIC Stamp 1 and BASIC Stamp 2 microcontrollers into custom research design projects. Beau has also Designed IC layout for cell phones, 10/100/1000 MacPhy Ethernet cards, Sony Playstation MAC controller, HP color printer cartridge driver modification, High speed ADC used in Foveon cameras, Noise cancellation IC's for Qualcomm, High-speed SerDes ADCs and DACs ranging from 2.5 Gb/s to 10 Gb/s, and several other applications. Beau graduated from Westminster College in PreMed/Engineering and has since continued studying engineering at Oklahoma and State University. He also studied IC layout design at OKC University and National Semiconductor.
David Carrier - Field Application Engineer
David Carrier has been a key contributor to the company for many years. David has experience with both hardware and software as well as working directly with customers. On a daily basis David works on product development, design, open-source hardware, and creates and reviews application notes. He was the application engineer responsible for the QuickStart. Other engineering responsibilities include the PropBOE and the Spinneret.
