I was born in southern California (one of the remaining few) and until 2008 lived there all my life. I attended a technical high school (Don Bosco Technical Institute) where I majored in Metallurgy (most of which I've now forgotten).

I pretty much was always interested in science--particularly chemistry--but I also always felt strongly attracted to teachers. So when it came time for college, I put the two together. I received my B.S. degree and ACS certificate in Chemistry from San Diego State University in 1975 and completed my teaching credential work there in 1976.

My first teaching position was at Glendora High School (in the very smoggy east end of the San Gabriel Valley) where I taught a variety of chemistry classes for seven years--at which point I was "let go" due to declining enrollment. It was at GHS that I developed the basic concept which eventually became the model for my A.P. course. [I recently found the picture at the left--taken in 1977--and include it here as an amusement for my former students and to hopefully preclude any possibility of blackmail should it fall into the wrong hands. Former students from GHS with a sharp eye will detect the kangaroo on my right collar point. Wish I had saved some of that hair.....]

After that I was fortunate to land my next (and last) position at an independent school in Studio City (at the southeast end of the San Fernando Valley).

Although the way I taught changed a lot over the more than 30 years I was doing it, my main area of interest has always been the teaching laboratory. Searching for the "perfect" interface between what goes on in the classroom and what happens in the lab consumed a lot of my mental and physical energy. In 1991 I was a California finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and in 1993 I was voted Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher of the year by the local section of the American Chemical Society. Both of those honors came my way as a result of nomination by colleagues. I also have one article published in the Journal of Chemical Education (on the early years of the A.P. course: vol. 68, No. 9, 770). These things are kind of neat, but mostly I just worked and tinkered away in the stockroom and lab trying to figure out whatswhat! [that's a 1997 photo of me on the right, attempting to obliterate all evidence that I ever lectured on Crystal Field Theory]

I garden a lot (flowers, fruit, vegetables, water lilies...), read, and work on our "new" home. Cooking in a large variety of styles is something else I find interesting (and tasty!). I also do a lot of baking (including my own bread on a regular basis) and occasionally dabble in stained glass windows. I love much "classical" music, but I also really enjoy the classic music of Porter, Arlen, Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin, etc. that makes up the Great American Songbook. If could have another life I would want to be Michael Feinstein more than anyone else (but with the voice of Michael Bublé).

I retired from teaching in June of 2008, after spending 50 years of my life going to school every morning (except for summer vacations!). I now live in Los Osos (a small coastal town just south of Morro Bay on the Central Coast of California) on a permanent "summer vacation" with my spouse of 33 years, Ric (who also retired from teaching mathematics).