I was born in Long Island, New York, and lived in Vermont, Virginia, Maryland, Colorado, and California. I have a BS in Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ever since I was a small boy, I have been interested in how things work. I recall as a small child my father bought a new Timex watch and showed it off to his family. I was very curious about the watch and asked my father how it worked. Since he was an Engineer, he took the time to explain in detail on my terms how to wind it at the stem and how the gears inside work and keep time. All night I wondered what the gear looked like and how can they fit in such a small place. The next day while my father was working in the yard, I decided to look at the watch. I went to his desk and found the watch. I looked at it and wondered how all the mechanisms could fit in the small watch. I then found a small screwdriver and proceeded to take apart the watch. I had the crystal and back off and was in awe seeing the mechanism when my dad walked in to find me on the floor with the watch apart. My father at first was very upset and he had some choice words for me, and all my allowance would go towards a new watch. After he calmed down, we talked about it, and he said I should have talked to him first before taking apart the watch. To this day I still have a curiosity about how things work. This is probably why I choose a career in the sciences.