Deep in water. Curious about everything else.
True Ascent Labs is my independent software studio. It’s anchored in water — a research career in freshwater science and years operating real utilities — and it’s just as much a home for the tools I build for whatever problem I’m curious about next.
Two things I do
Consulting
Custom software and data tools for water utilities, ditch and irrigation companies, and agricultural water users — built by someone who’s administered the water rights and run the SCADA, not just read about them.
Tools
My own products, built to be genuinely useful and worth trusting — like Cairn (early-retirement planning) and Jimothy (project management for a team of one), with a couple of tools for the outdoors in the works.
Why trust what I build
Most software for the real world is written by people who’ve never had to live with it. I’ve been on both sides — the research that has to be defensible, and the 2 a.m. reality of keeping a system running. That’s the standard everything here is held to.
- A research careerA Ph.D. in freshwater science, roles from USGS Hydrologic Technician to USGS Research Ecologist to a postdoc at INSTAAR (CU Boulder), and peer-reviewed work in hydrology, limnology, and biogeochemistry.
- Hands-on operationsColorado water-rights administration, supply and drought planning, demand and streamflow forecasting, SCADA development, and environmental monitoring — the day-to-day of running a real system.