Thomas Halsmer has been the Physics Instrument Shop Foreman since 1995. He has extensive experience in all aspects of machining and manufacturing. He began working with lathes and mills in the mid-1960's at the Lafayette Halsmer Airport which was owned and operated by his family. After a four year tour with the US Air Force, he started his machine shop career in 1975 by working in the tool room at Fairfield Gear. He acquired additional skills by working for five years in the tool and die shops in South Bend IN before joining Purdue's Central Shop in 1983. Tom has been a CNC instructor at Ivy Tech for two years and moved to the Physics Instrument shop in 1985. He assumed the shop foreman's position 1995. Under his leadership, the Physics Shop has integrated computer design and CNC machining into its day to day operation.

Kevin Howard brings over 32 years of experience in all phases of machining, fabrication and manufacturing to the Purdue Physics Instrument Shop. He began his career in 1972 with Hyster, learning a wide variety of machine shop operations. He then became a tool and die maker and CNC programmer at Fall Creek Plastics and worked five years at Danville Metal Stamping, gaining experience with wire cut EDM's, CNC mills and CNC lathes. He joined the Physics Instrument Shop in 1995.