nanites: The People Behind Nano
This interview aims to be the first of many one-on-one discussions with members of the Nano team. Today we chat with team member Mica Busch, Integration Development Lead at Nano.
Hey there Mica — please shut the door it gets a bit drafty in here! Tell me a little bit about yourself? Where’d you grow up? Where are you living now?
Mica: I was born and raised in Michigan. I spent some years in Wisconsin as well. After getting married and having a couple children, my wife and I moved to Chicago for work and had two more children! We are now happy to call ‘Chi-town’ our family home.
What led you into the programmer/software engineer space that you find yourself in today?
Mica: Since I was very young — technology fascinated me. My parents became increasingly frustrated as all I wanted to do was explore and tinker with the family computer. “Its just a tool!” they would say — however it was always so much more to me. How did it work? WHY did it work? What was it doing behind the scenes? I eventually ran my own consulting business ‘Micasoft’ for a while gaining experience in information technology, Residential and Commercial Automation systems.
What did you totally nerd out about growing up?
Mica: Ha! I was always obsessed with inventing and creating cool things. From rockets and model aircraft to high-voltage electricity and metaphysical research, I was obsessed with finding a new way to fly. The height of my experiments in high school included constructing a “Lifter” — a lightweight balsa-wood framed device powered by ~60,000 volts of electricity — to see if solid-state propulsion was possible. While cool, ion-based propulsion just wasn’t efficient enough and like other researchers at the time I eventually gave up on it to pursue more realistic goals.
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Mica: I love both, but feel most connected to Star Trek — it’s humanity and Earth, after all! Star Wars is fantastic science-fantasy, whereas Star Trek captures the possibility and hope of our own future.
You seem to be a fan of all things space. Tell me your favorite fact about it.
Mica: When in space, never touch two pieces of metal to one another! In a total vacuum, there is no thin layer of oxygen atoms to stop their atoms from adhering, and you end up WELDING things as the atoms of each object will freely join together. In space, atoms don’t know the difference between two objects — they just see more friends and join the party!
What’s the best live concert you ever attended?
Mica: I have only attended one concert in my life — went with friends to see Coldplay live in Minneapolis, MN. Yeah, yeah, Coldplay — but it was really cool, quite an experience.
Sorry to interject — but why not a Nickelback concert?
Why not Nickelback? Because I’ve only been to ONE concert so far, EVER.
Where would we find you on a Tuesday night at 9 pm when you aren’t working on Nano?
Mica: At home, with my wife and kiddos, making sure my Chaos Monkeys are staying in bed so they can sleep before school in the morning!
What excites you the most about working on Nano’s future?
Mica: This team and this project are quite unlike any other I have participated in. It is unique, focused, and has incredible potential for the future.
You recently came on full time with the Nano organization. How are you feeling about the move? Has it changed your day to day significantly?
Mica: It is indeed quite an adjustment, both for me and my family. While transitioning from a 9–5 job in an office to a home office is liberating, it has its challenges. I am glad; however, that I made the move! With more freedom to take care of Nano’s needs comes more freedom to take care of my family and spend more time with my children in their early years.
Your title on the Nano team is Infrastructure Engineer. What does that mean in layman’s terms?
Mica: Build and keep running everything the Foundation and Team need to do their work. Website, Nodes, Work Server, Storage and Backups, you name it, I work to make sure its running smooth and as expected.
Thanks for sitting down with me and having a chat over some Earl Grey. Who knew that was your favorite tea! Onward and upward to Nano!
