Mark Voelker, 63, is a physicist and optical engineer currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is building an astronomical observatory which will be accessed and controlled online by professional and amateur astronomers. In addition to astronomy and physics, he is interested and active in cryonics, life extension, and the economics and history of money and banking. He earned a doctorate in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1993 and has done engineering and research in infrared astronomy, scanning probe microscopy, hyperspectral imaging, cryopreservation, and high pressure physics. He served on the Board of Directors of the Alcor Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona from 1992-1999 and currently serves on the Board of the United Precious Metals Association in Alpine, Utah.