Some of the most important advancements in technology don’t make headlines. They happen quietly in labs, in design reviews, and through years of disciplined engineering.
Whether it’s radiation therapy, scanning cargo at borders, or inspecting aircraft components for microscopic flaws, the systems behind these tasks are built by people who rarely seek the spotlight, but whose work makes a lasting impact.
Andrey Mishin (Vice President, R&D) is one of those people. His journey from the Soviet Union to the United States, and from academic physics to industry-defining innovation, reflects a career shaped by integrity, collaboration, and a steady commitment to solving problems that matter. Today, his leadership at Varex Imaging continues to influence how critical technologies are developed, deployed, and improved for safety, for progress, and for the people who rely on them every day.
A Journey Rooted in Resilience
Andrey’s story begins not in a lab, but in a city torn apart by nature. Born in 1963 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Andrey Mishin grew up in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that devastated the region. While his family was fortunate to survive, the experience left a deep mark. His family later moved to Moscow in search of stability, where his father, Valentin, worked in the oil and gas industry, and his mother, Larisa, practiced medicine. Their home, also shaped by his grandmother Olga, balanced discipline with warmth, nurturing and growing Andrey Mishin and his two older sisters Liudmila and Irina.
Between 1970 and 1973, Andrey Mishin traveled to India with his parents, where they lived in Dehradun. Andrey received home education and English language training from a British native speaker at Mr. & Mrs. Mann’s private school. This early exposure to other cultures sparked his lifelong appreciation for learning beyond borders.
Back in Moscow by 1974, Andrey Mishin pursued a focused academic path and graduated high school with honors in 1979. Though initially drawn to aircraft design, he enrolled at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, a decision shaped by rigorous exams, dedicated tutoring, and strong family support. It would set the course for his future in nuclear physics and particle acceleration.
Magic Happens When Creativity Meets Engineering
Though deeply technical by profession, Andrey’s early interests were artistic. He painted, carved wood, played piano, and guitar. His parents encouraged a stable career, suggesting he keep art as a lifelong hobby. It wasn’t a compromise. The creativity he nurtured in art found a home in science and engineering. He saw beauty in precision, elegance in design, and joy in solving problems.
Over time, he realized the lab and the studio were spaces for creation, just with different tools. What shaped Andrey most were the people around him, his family, his first scientific advisor Dr. Igor S. Shchedrin, and many other scientific and business mentors, his colleagues and students. For him, success has always been a collective effort, not an individual pursuit.
A New Life, One Suitcase At a Time
Andrey’s professional breakthrough came during a difficult era in Russia, the early 1990s. At the EPAC conference in Berlin in 1992, he met Robert and Marianne Hamm, an American couple who introduced him to Russell Schonberg, founder of a pioneering accelerator company in California. That encounter led to a job offer, a green card, and a chance to start over in the United States.
In 1993, he arrived in San Francisco with his wife and daughter, two suitcases, a couple of boxes, and $300. They had little, but they had hope and soon, they had help. Ken and Pat Voak, colleagues of Russell, housed the family and provided invaluable support. These first years were financially challenging but filled with promise.
The transition from post-Soviet Russia to Silicon Valley was more than geographic. It was a shift in mindset, culture, and ambition. It marked the beginning of a new chapter, personally and professionally. Over time, Andrey’s technical skill and work ethic earned him roles of increasing responsibility.
Andrey Mishin helped Russell in developing linear accelerators for radiation therapy, sterilization, radiation chemistry, various industrial applications, and in 1998, he orchestrated and helped Russell to sell his company to American Science and Engineering, Inc. – a company engaged in Security Screening. In 10 years, he founded his own businesses and spent 8 years as AS&E representative in selling their security systems and, along the way, Andrey again engaged in designing and building of the linear accelerators.
Rebuilding What Others Took For Granted
In 2016, Andrey’s business was acquired to help in expanding the Varex Imaging Corporation portfolio. In 2017, Varex spun off as an independent public company. With that came the challenge of developing its own Accelerator Beam Centerlines (ABCs) for linear accelerators, products critical to its industrial markets in security screening and non-destructive testing (NDT). Until then, Varex had relied on its former parent company for these components. Now, it would have to build them from the ground up.
Andrey Mishin was entrusted with this task. The challenge wasn’t only about engineering new systems. It was about recreating a legacy. Some of the original designs came from the earliest days of Silicon Valley. Independently developing and then improving them, while also ensuring backwards compatibility, required not just technical acumen, but strategic vision.
He built a team of nearly 30 professionals to take on the task. Today, that team has delivered several models across energy ranges, including 3 MeV, 6 MeV, and 9 MeV. They’ve filed new patents, created intellectual property, and helped in positioning Varex as a competitive, independent player in the market of linear accelerators.
Inventing For Impact
Andrey’s work at Varex has led to significant advances in linear accelerator technology. Beyond production and system integration, he has guided research that has directly influenced how these machines perform in the field. He emphasizes that innovation must be practical. It should solve technical problems, be designed to support safety, reduce cost, and improve user experience.
One of his most impactful projects centers on reducing the spot size of electron beams, which has direct implications for high-resolution imaging. The ability to detect smaller microcracks in dense objects supports industrial safety, particularly in the aerospace and nuclear sectors. His patent-pending design that removes the need for external magnetic focusing is a leap forward, technically and economically. This innovation has the potential to simplify future linac designs while lowering manufacturing costs and increasing system portability.
Two patents stand out as representative of his vision. One involves a hybrid accelerator system that allows a broader range of regulated beam and X-ray parameters. The other, a multiple-head linac system, introduces operational flexibility, enabling users to alternate between imaging modes or applications without extensive reconfiguration. These inventions improve current capabilities and expand the market reach of Varex’s technologies.
Andrey Mishin continues to publish and speak on these topics, believing that sharing knowledge multiplies its value. His two latest papers are comprehensive summaries of Varex’s strides in the last decade. They serve as a roadmap for others in the industry and offer insight into where linac design may be heading next. “Innovation,” he often says, “is not just what you build, but how well it serves people when they need it most.”
Ethics In A High-Stakes Industry
Working with radiation-generating machines and high-voltage systems comes with inherent risks. For Andrey, safety is not just a checklist but a foundational value. Varex adheres to strict international and domestic regulations, and Andrey and his team are strong supporters and followers of the policy. But more importantly, he insists that every team member understands why those protocols exist. The machines developed under his leadership are used in critical applications for integration with OEM medical systems, border security, non-destructive testing of various critical objects in aerospace, nuclear, oil & gas and other important industries.
A design flaw or lapse in compliance can have catastrophic consequences. That level of responsibility requires technical precision and ethical clarity. Each decision must consider engineering feasibility and the well-being of users and communities. Andrey Mishin believes ethics in engineering starts with humility. The recognition that innovation impacts real lives. His team engages and participates in cross-functional safety reviews, scenario simulations, and ongoing system audits. These practices embed a culture of accountability at every stage of development, from design to deployment.
He also encourages younger engineers to see ethics not as a constraint, but as a framework for thoughtful leadership. “In our industry,” he says, “Integrity isn’t optional—it’s the backbone of our work.”
Passing The Torch With Purpose
Mentorship is central to Andrey’s professional identity, and he always remembers, honors, and cherishes memory of his mentors. He believes the next generation of scientists and engineers must master the technical aspects of their work and inherit a culture of respect and responsibility. He approaches mentorship through everyday interactions, walking through design problems with junior engineers, guiding ethical discussions, and reinforcing the importance of teamwork.
He often shares stories to illustrate lessons, believing that narrative makes knowledge more memorable. At times, these stories help young professionals see their work in a broader context, connecting technical tasks to real-world impact. His team knows that beneath his exacting standards lies genuine investment in their growth.
This mentorship often goes beyond technical guidance. He encourages young professionals to cultivate curiosity, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Whether it’s encouraging them to lead meetings or giving them space to troubleshoot independently, he is intentional about helping them grow into self-assured contributors.
Having benefited greatly from his mentors, Andrey Mishin also believes that strong mentorship builds more resilient organizations. Teams that feel seen, heard, and supported are more likely to innovate, collaborate, and stay committed. In his view, mentorship is about individuals, while it’s about creating an enduring culture of excellence. He often reminds his team, “If we don’t invest in people, we’re limiting the lifespan of our impact.”
The Future Is More Than A Machine
For Andrey, the future is about intelligent systems, broader access, and ethical impact. He anticipates that the next generation of linear accelerators will be more compact, versatile, and maybe even integrated with AI-powered diagnostics. These technologies will allow for smarter imaging, adaptive functionality, and deployment in more diverse environments, including remote or mobile operations.
Andrey Mishin sees promising developments in dual-energy imaging and autonomous calibration features, which could significantly simplify system maintenance and improve real-time decision-making. He is particularly excited about the MicroBeam Linatron™ systems that Varex is developing, which offer submillimeter beam spots and open the door to new applications in field-deployable inspection tools.
He also believes in democratizing access to advanced technologies, while making practical tools. Making linacs to create the sophisticated tools with better features, but easier to operate will allow the community, many developing nations and smaller institutions to benefit from tools that were once reserved for high-end facilities. This, in turn, has the potential to augment global standards in health, safety, and infrastructure inspection.
But Andrey’s vision for the future extends beyond machines. He’s committed to cultivating a strong innovation culture inside Varex—one that balances technical ambition with social responsibility, improving this area of the business for Varex. He regularly collaborates with universities, national laboratories, contributes to peer-reviewed journals, and supports technical education initiatives.
His work is far from over. With Varex, he hopes to see through the projects that began in 2016, deliver more breakthroughs, and continue shaping a future where innovation and responsibility go hand in hand. “It’s not just about what we invent next,” he reflects, “it’s about who we enable through those inventions.”
