The science and application of chemistry have been a lifelong passion. Armed with curiosity and an early childhood chemistry set, the ensuing years yielded a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a doctor of philosophy in analytical chemistry. Using this educational background for more than thirty years, I performed basic and applied research in academic, government and private sector settings, accumulating along the way several performance awards, a government service medal and an...
The science and application of chemistry have been a lifelong passion. Armed with curiosity and an early childhood chemistry set, the ensuing years yielded a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a doctor of philosophy in analytical chemistry. Using this educational background for more than thirty years, I performed basic and applied research in academic, government and private sector settings, accumulating along the way several performance awards, a government service medal and an outstanding alumnus award from an undergraduate university. Fortunately there was also an opportunity to travel to more than twenty European countries and to Japan, as well as to interact with foreign scientists and present papers at international conferences.
In the private sector I founded, built and managed a small high-tech company based primarily on the biomedical and environmental applications of lasers and mass spectrometers, and within this corporate capacity had the opportunity to interact with individuals from business and other scientific disciplines, including geology, medicine, physics and molecular biology.
The quality of teachers and mentors form a large part of the path to success, and I had some excellent ones. During these years I also had the opportunity to teach informally, on a day-to-day basis, many professional scientists at all degree levels, fledgling scientists, gifted and talented elementary students in a laboratory setting, and also have limited experience with adolescent students in an institutional setting.
Following a long career I am interested in helping to pass the scientific torch to the next generation. As such, I enjoy working with students and teaching them chemistry and science, including my fifteen- and twelve-year-old grandsons, the oldest being a student at a regional science and technology high school. While tutoring students, in addition to the academic basics, I bring in practical examples from the everyday world to reinforce the principles being taught; I also wo
