Hometown? I was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, but most of my childhood was spent in Grundy Center, a small farming community of about 2,000 people located in central northeast Iowa.   

When did you join UMRA? Early 2016, immediately after I retired. 

What was your very first job? Detasseling corn, typical for a young Iowan. The pay wasn't much ($1.30 per hour), but the work was strenuous and outdoors, with the strong, good scents of rich black dirt and other farm things. I still feel at home when I sense a farm nearby.

What was your occupation when you retired from FT work? My last role at the University was in the Office for Technology Commercialization, where we patented technologies developed at the University and licensed them to companies that worked to transform them into useful products. 

Where were you in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon? I remember this vividly. I was in my childhood home watching the landing on our black-and-white TV. The decade of the 1960s was very interesting. Science and space were driving forces that convinced a lot of us to pursue engineering and technology degrees and careers.

If you could learn a new skill, what would you like it to be? Acting in the theater. This would be a challenge and opposite to my personality.  

Do you have a favorite place on the U of M campus? The Mall. Every time I'm on campus I try to spend a few minutes there. The energy of young people instills a sense of hope for the future. 

What is a fun fact about you we might not know? I'm an inventor of the laser technology used to produce the squiggly lines and circles on your car's license plates. Look closely with the sun behind you to see them.  

What is something you currently enjoy doing? My wife, Jane Doyle, and I love traveling. Our next trips include Death Valley and an Alaskan cruise. Previous travels have taken us to China, Budapest, Prague, Rome, Venice, Yellowstone, Glacier, and many other places.