The Company was set up in
1985 by Dr. Martin Thomas, who had previously tried to combine
his interests in research with his desire to become more involved
in commerce by accepting an offer to join an industrial research
laboratory. However, he soon acquired the reputation of being an
esoteric academic, as a result of his heretical views that in
order to apply science successfully, it might be a good idea to
try and understand it first. This divergence of views led Martin
to set up Cairn Research, initially as a part-time operation, to
prepare for the day when he was told that his services were no
longer required. In the event, that day never came, because in
the spring of 1989 he resigned instead. Although he would like
everyone to believe that the subsequent closure of the entire
research site was because they couldn't manage without him, they
didn't seem to managing very well with him either, and he's just
pleased that Cairn are coping rather better.
Martin's
industrial experiences led him to believe that a small Company
with a "can-do" philosophy, unimpeded by external
interference, could compete very effectively with much larger
organisations. To meet the requirement of independence, the
business has always been self-financing, which was possible
because of its origin as a part-time activity. The business was
also kept within Martin's house for the first couple of years
after he went full-time, by which time we had done well enough to
buy our own premises in Faversham (to which visitors are always
welcome). Martin's expertise in optical measurement techniques
was already well known from his previous research on
intracellular calcium measurement in molluscan neurones using
metallochromic indicators, so we were well placed to become
involved with the emerging field of fluorescence indicators.
Fluorescence is still our mainstay, but we are steadily
diversifying into other areas as well.
Adrian
Hawkes started working for us in 1988, while Martin still had his
industrial position. He had broken his leg playing football, and
was unable to carry on with his previous job, so Martin set him
to work building circuit boards and generally looking after the
business during the day while he went off to do his own day job.
Adrian's first love has always been mechanical engineering, and
he started an engineering apprenticeship when he left school.
Britain still had some vestiges of an industrial base in those
days, but once the economic policies of the early 1980's had put
that right, he (like many other apprentices) had to find other
things to do for a living. Adrian looked after our production for
several years, but more recently, we have purchased a variety of
machine tools, and he is now back in his element operating those
(having completed a City and Guilds engineering course). For
large production runs, our mechanical engineering is usually
contracted out. However, small volume work and prototyping are
generally carried out "in house".
By
the summer of 1990 we were sufficiently busy that we needed some
extra help, so we took on James Kerin, who was then still at
school and looking for something to do during his summer
holidays. He has been here ever since, and continued his studies
on a part-time basis during his first few years with us. Shortly
after that, he became our official Sales Manager, taking care of
customer requirements and liaising with foreign distributors.
James also works closely with Jez assisting in the day-to-day
running of the company. The similarity of his name to the
Company's name causes endless confusion to our suppliers, and we
often receive letters and packages addressed to James Cairn, or -
more worryingly - to Kerin Research. If you should receive an
invoice payable to Kerin Research then please let us know!
Jeremy
Graham (Jez) joined us early in 1992. Until then, Martin had been
doing all the design work by himself, and Adrian and James did
the building. Jez, a chemistry graduate from Bath University, was
taken on originally to help Martin with research and development.
Since then he has also become increasingly involved in customer
technical support and in the day-to-day running of the Company.
He is likely to be your contact for advice on imaging in general
and CCD cameras in particular. As well as becoming Company
Secretary in 1998 (and more recently a Director), he is trying to
find time to study for an MBA. He is also a fervent Liverpool
supporter, which ensures a (usually) friendly rivalry with James,
who for some unaccountable reason supports Arsenal.
Dallas
Rush (Dal) joined us a few months after Jez. He had been about to
become a casualty of the policies of his then employer, and
Martin offered him a job in a moment of weakness one evening when
they were having a drink in the local pub (drinking is becoming a
very expensive pastime nowadays). Dal has extensive electronic
engineering repair and test experience, and he looks after these
things for Cairn now. He has also taken over much of the general
building in a practical and supervisory role.
Andrew
Hill, an electronic engineering graduate from the University of
Kent Medical Electronics Department, has been with us since July
1995. He is involved, with Martin, in the electronic design of
new products, the development of new hardware and the upgrading
of existing circuit boards. He was also responsible for
developing the Windows version of our fluorescence software,
which has recently evolved (to his dismay) into more-or-less a
full time role. Andy is usually the best point of contact for OEM
software development issues and writes and maintains support code
for integrating our equipment with software from other sources.
Neil
Sims, now our Production Manager, was taken on at the beginning
of 1996. Neil comes from an engineering background, and in
addition to some computer and design work, now takes personal
responsibility for much of our specialist manufacture, including
our flash photolysis system and high intensity light source. He
also looks after many of our component ordering and product
shipping arrangements.
Wendy
Jones broke a long-standing Cairn tradition at the end of 1998,
by becoming our first female employee. Wendy keeps the books,
pays the bills and chases our invoices for us. She has already
learned how to strike terror into the hearts of our customers'
finance departments, while simultaneously assuring our suppliers
that "the cheque is in the post" and will arrive by
Friday. Wendy also excels in unarmed combat, so we have to stay
on the right side of her as well.
Dr.
Martyn Reynolds joined us at the beginning of November 2000. He
had seen the job vacancy on this web site and in a moment of
madness decided to apply. Martyn did his first degree in physics,
and then obtained a Ph.D. with Prof. Peter McNaughton on calcium
conductance regulation in photoreceptors, followed by
postdoctoral research on calcium regulation in a number of other
unsuspecting tissues. This background, together with his strong
interest in the technical aspects of research, made him uniquely
well qualified for the position, leaving us with no plausible
excuse to turn him away. As well as providing expert advice to
customers, Martyn is also rapidly getting involved in our R &
D programme, and we're already wondering how we managed to cope
without him (but perhaps we weren't, as things had been getting
more than a little busy).
Dominique
Rogers had already been working for us one day a week for a
while, so she has only herself to blame for now including the
other four. She has been with us full-time since June 2001. When
she started with us, her main job was as a local hairdresser, but
we managed to persuade her that cutting the wires off components
wasn't so very different, and it looks like we've succeeded
there. Apart from the occasional tendency to try and work up a
good lather with the circuit board cleaning solvents, she has
adapted very well to her new occupation. We're selling so many
light sources nowadays that she currently spends most of her time
helping to build those, but we're also introducing her to some
organisational tasks such as compiling a proper database for
keeping track of equipment modifications and repairs.
Gary
Richards is yet another home-grown product, as we got to know him
through his father, who for once we did NOT meet via the usual
connections. His father runs a local steel working business, and
he constructed the internal floor and upstairs offices in our
current premises. But obviously the concept of a bit of decent
hard work didn't appeal to Gary, as rather than following in the
family footsteps he decided to go to Canterbury University
instead, from which he graduated in June 2001 with a degree in
computing. He's been working with us full-time since then,
although again he has only himself to blame, as he'd already been
helping us out during his holidays for a couple of years, so he
should have known what he was in for. As part of the deal, we
promised him an office, but space here is really tight at the
moment, so the one we gave him is a bit on the small size as the
photo shows. Gary has been working with Andy on further software
development, and he also helps look after the computer network.
Martin's
industrial experiences led him to believe that a small Company
with a "can-do" philosophy, unimpeded by external
interference, could compete very effectively with much larger
organisations. To meet the requirement of independence, the
business has always been self-financing, which was possible
because of its origin as a part-time activity. The business was
also kept within Martin's house for the first couple of years
after he went full-time, by which time we had done well enough to
buy our own premises in Faversham (to which visitors are always
welcome). Martin's expertise in optical measurement techniques
was already well known from his previous research on
intracellular calcium measurement in molluscan neurones using
metallochromic indicators, so we were well placed to become
involved with the emerging field of fluorescence indicators.
Fluorescence is still our mainstay, but we are steadily
diversifying into other areas as well.
Adrian
Hawkes started working for us in 1988, while Martin still had his
industrial position. He had broken his leg playing football, and
was unable to carry on with his previous job, so Martin set him
to work building circuit boards and generally looking after the
business during the day while he went off to do his own day job.
Adrian's first love has always been mechanical engineering, and
he started an engineering apprenticeship when he left school.
Britain still had some vestiges of an industrial base in those
days, but once the economic policies of the early 1980's had put
that right, he (like many other apprentices) had to find other
things to do for a living. Adrian looked after our production for
several years, but more recently, we have purchased a variety of
machine tools, and he is now back in his element operating those
(having completed a City and Guilds engineering course). For
large production runs, our mechanical engineering is usually
contracted out. However, small volume work and prototyping are
generally carried out "in house".
By
the summer of 1990 we were sufficiently busy that we needed some
extra help, so we took on James Kerin, who was then still at
school and looking for something to do during his summer
holidays. He has been here ever since, and continued his studies
on a part-time basis during his first few years with us. Shortly
after that, he became our official Sales Manager, taking care of
customer requirements and liaising with foreign distributors.
James also works closely with Jez assisting in the day-to-day
running of the company. The similarity of his name to the
Company's name causes endless confusion to our suppliers, and we
often receive letters and packages addressed to James Cairn, or -
more worryingly - to Kerin Research. If you should receive an
invoice payable to Kerin Research then please let us know!
Jeremy
Graham (Jez) joined us early in 1992. Until then, Martin had been
doing all the design work by himself, and Adrian and James did
the building. Jez, a chemistry graduate from Bath University, was
taken on originally to help Martin with research and development.
Since then he has also become increasingly involved in customer
technical support and in the day-to-day running of the Company.
He is likely to be your contact for advice on imaging in general
and CCD cameras in particular. As well as becoming Company
Secretary in 1998 (and more recently a Director), he is trying to
find time to study for an MBA. He is also a fervent Liverpool
supporter, which ensures a (usually) friendly rivalry with James,
who for some unaccountable reason supports Arsenal.
Dallas
Rush (Dal) joined us a few months after Jez. He had been about to
become a casualty of the policies of his then employer, and
Martin offered him a job in a moment of weakness one evening when
they were having a drink in the local pub (drinking is becoming a
very expensive pastime nowadays). Dal has extensive electronic
engineering repair and test experience, and he looks after these
things for Cairn now. He has also taken over much of the general
building in a practical and supervisory role.
Andrew
Hill, an electronic engineering graduate from the University of
Kent Medical Electronics Department, has been with us since July
1995. He is involved, with Martin, in the electronic design of
new products, the development of new hardware and the upgrading
of existing circuit boards. He was also responsible for
developing the Windows version of our fluorescence software,
which has recently evolved (to his dismay) into more-or-less a
full time role. Andy is usually the best point of contact for OEM
software development issues and writes and maintains support code
for integrating our equipment with software from other sources.
Neil
Sims, now our Production Manager, was taken on at the beginning
of 1996. Neil comes from an engineering background, and in
addition to some computer and design work, now takes personal
responsibility for much of our specialist manufacture, including
our flash photolysis system and high intensity light source. He
also looks after many of our component ordering and product
shipping arrangements.
Wendy
Jones broke a long-standing Cairn tradition at the end of 1998,
by becoming our first female employee. Wendy keeps the books,
pays the bills and chases our invoices for us. She has already
learned how to strike terror into the hearts of our customers'
finance departments, while simultaneously assuring our suppliers
that "the cheque is in the post" and will arrive by
Friday. Wendy also excels in unarmed combat, so we have to stay
on the right side of her as well.
Dr.
Martyn Reynolds joined us at the beginning of November 2000. He
had seen the job vacancy on this web site and in a moment of
madness decided to apply. Martyn did his first degree in physics,
and then obtained a Ph.D. with Prof. Peter McNaughton on calcium
conductance regulation in photoreceptors, followed by
postdoctoral research on calcium regulation in a number of other
unsuspecting tissues. This background, together with his strong
interest in the technical aspects of research, made him uniquely
well qualified for the position, leaving us with no plausible
excuse to turn him away. As well as providing expert advice to
customers, Martyn is also rapidly getting involved in our R &
D programme, and we're already wondering how we managed to cope
without him (but perhaps we weren't, as things had been getting
more than a little busy).
Dominique
Rogers had already been working for us one day a week for a
while, so she has only herself to blame for now including the
other four. She has been with us full-time since June 2001. When
she started with us, her main job was as a local hairdresser, but
we managed to persuade her that cutting the wires off components
wasn't so very different, and it looks like we've succeeded
there. Apart from the occasional tendency to try and work up a
good lather with the circuit board cleaning solvents, she has
adapted very well to her new occupation. We're selling so many
light sources nowadays that she currently spends most of her time
helping to build those, but we're also introducing her to some
organisational tasks such as compiling a proper database for
keeping track of equipment modifications and repairs.
Gary
Richards is yet another home-grown product, as we got to know him
through his father, who for once we did NOT meet via the usual
connections. His father runs a local steel working business, and
he constructed the internal floor and upstairs offices in our
current premises. But obviously the concept of a bit of decent
hard work didn't appeal to Gary, as rather than following in the
family footsteps he decided to go to Canterbury University
instead, from which he graduated in June 2001 with a degree in
computing. He's been working with us full-time since then,
although again he has only himself to blame, as he'd already been
helping us out during his holidays for a couple of years, so he
should have known what he was in for. As part of the deal, we
promised him an office, but space here is really tight at the
moment, so the one we gave him is a bit on the small size as the
photo shows. Gary has been working with Andy on further software
development, and he also helps look after the computer network.
