I was born in Trafford, Pa. I received a B.A. from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., and received a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Montana State University. I taught at Auburn University for one year, did a post doc for the Department of Energy for two years and have been teaching here ever since, 12 plus years. I also have done research at several venues, such as NASA, the University of Tennessee and Furman University. For fun, I go rafting, canoeing, rock climbing, motorcycling, bicycling, scuba diving and anything that involves some amount of danger. I love my job and will be here until I retire.