My original academic background was as an undergraduate at Cambridge University in the U.K. studying Math. My real passion was always for computers, but very few universities in the UK were teaching undergraduate Computer Science at the time, and mine was not one of them. However, I built my first computer from scratch in high school using mechanical relays and switches. Things have come a long way since then, but my passion for computers has endured ever since, along with flying (I have a PPL with instrument rating), sailing and travel, by the way!

After graduating, I moved to Berkeley, California to study Computer Science, and I was a awarded a Master's degree from U.C. Berkeley, right around the time that Berkeley was pioneering the development of UNIX, networking, security, and many other "hot" topics. My particular area of research was in programming language design and compiler development. I have been amazed at how many of those pioneering concepts are still at the heart of computer science so many years later.

After leaving Berkeley, I spent several years as a software development engineer and manager with Intel Corporation in Santa Clara, California, developing programming languages and compilers for early Intel chips such as the 8088 and 8086.

I then moved to Altos Computer Systems, where I spent 12 years as Vice President of Software Engineering, and subsequently Managing Director of Altos' United Kingdom operation. It represented quite a heavy dose of business reality at the sharp end!

When I moved to Oregon, I spent time with Central Point Software as Director of networking and security products, and later with Webridge Inc, where I was Director of training and consulting services. My most interesting and significant web application by far was a sophisticated global foreign exchange trading portal for Deutsche Bank headquarters in London. What a wild ride the dot com boom and bust was! I enjoyed every moment of it! And now it is booming once again!

I am currently a member of the faculty of the Computer Science department at PCC Sylvania. Formerly I was on the faculty of the School of Business at PSU, where I was an instructor in Information Systems. My professional interest right now is making the study of computers fun, yet challenging, for everyone - hence my current excitement about games and robotics. When I am not working on my computer, I love to dream about travel, sailing in warm climes, and ski-ing in cold ones.