Kons has been part of the QuickSet team for seven months. Although he was originally hired as a software engineer, Kons is currently the Program Manager for government and special programs. As an undergraduate, Kons attended the University of Illinois in Urbana where he majored in Biochemistry. In 2000 Kons went to work at Avon as a chemist in the quality control lab. After a few years, Kons decided that it was time to make a career change. One factor that influenced his decision was the health issues that were involved with being exposed to ether, formaldehyde, and other known carcinogens.

He attended Northern Illinois University where he got his graduate degree in computer science. At NIU he was a teaching assistant from 2002-2003. Kons taught courses in IBM O/S 390 Assembler, UNIX, and Intro to Programming with Java. Kons explains why he decided to make this career change: “I had been dabbling with computer technologies and programming since 1994, and I figured that I could do it for a career. It was a very natural choice. The nice thing about NIU was that the curriculum exposed me to IT Project Management.” Kons is part of the team that is helping QuickSet be able to provide the building blocks for a surveillance systems and modular security. Kons comments, “I like the exposure to all this new technology that QuickSet helps to develop. The project that we are currently working on, Naval Research Laboratory, has been the most eye-opening in regards to the kind of technology that exists.” Kons only has one complaint about his job: “Since I live by Wrigley Field I don’t like the commute during a Cubs’ game. It can take me up to two hours to get home if the Cardinals are in town.”