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After a couple of years, I went to the U of M where I got a degree in electrical engineering and played in the U of M Marching Band (an all-male group in those days). My first job after graduation was with Shell Oil in New Orleans as an exploration geophysicist shooting and interpreting seismic profiles in the Gulf of Mexico. Carol and I quickly decided that we didn't like it there and I didn't think it was a good career for me (a wise decision considering the recent oil-well catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico). So I left Shell and went to the University of Illinois where I got an MS in aeronomy (the study of the physics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere).
Most of my work since then has been as an aerospace engineer for United Technologies where I've been involved in designing the International Space Station (ISS), the Boeing B-777, the F-22 Raptor (one of the USAF F-22 pilots personally thanked me for designing such a great aircraft when I happened to be at Oshkosh where the Raptor was appearing), the AFTI F-16, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter plus quite a number of other programs that will remain unnameable. After retiring from United technologies in 1999, I earned an MS in optical sciences from the College of Optical Sciences at the U of Arizona in Tucson. We live near Tucson where I enjoy the warm weather and clear skies that are ideal for my two hobbies. I have been a pilot for over 30 years and still fly for the sheer fun of it. Fortunately, I have been able to make the number of landings match the number of takeoffs. In addition, I am an amateur astronomer (although I did teach introductory astronomy laboratory courses and do research at the U of M in the '60s) with my own backyard observatory and telescopes from which to watch the skies. And I'm still working as an optical scientist for Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson on such programs as the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) and the Sidewinder air-to-air missile (AIM-9X), so, yes, I am a rocket scientist.
I have retired twice. First, from the USAF in 1995 after 26 years with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a SAC and AMC aircraft maintenance officer. Courtesy of the USAF, I was able to visit a lot of interesting places like Germany, England, Spain, Japan, Iceland, and Norway (where I had time to visit my relatives who took me to the old family farm near Bergen where my grandmother grew up before emigrating to the US in the 1890s). I also got to visit Saudia Arabia during the first Gulf War and have no desire to return there (it validated my decision to abandon geophysics since a lot of geophysicists, including friends of mine, ended up there). Second I retired from United Technologies in 1999 where I hold 13 patents. Finally, in 2011, other things called and I retired from Raytheon Missile Systems.
Quickly ordered a Sonex experimental aircraft kit, but didn't get it until 2012. Now I'm working hard to turn 670 lbs. of aluminum, steel, and fiberglass pieces into an airplane (see photo). In my spare time, I'm a Docent at Kitt Peak National Observatory where some of the most interesting discoveries in astronomy (such as dark matter) were made. This year, 2014 (but don't ask which month), I expect to finish and start flying again. Carol and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on Feb 1st, 2014.
