Born in Austria to German parents, I grew up in the Southern US and now live in France which means I’m usually pretty open-minded about food. Along the way, I worked in London and spend many years in Denmark. Southern Europe isn’t missing since I live in Corsica with my family.

My education is principally scientific with BS degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and a PhD in molecular biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. My dissertation was on the effects of pH and salt on the thermodynamic stability of proteins.

Professionally, my work has been mostly in IT and finance where I worked on front office trading systems for derivatives in large banks. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some truly brilliant, driven individuals from whom I learned a lot. While not particularly comfortable from an ego perspective, being surrounded by people who know more then you – and are willing to share it – is a real blessing.

Anything to do with the outdoors is what I usually try and do when I have some free time but most of my time is divided between trying to finish my house, volunteering at the Fablab and keeping the general chaos that is daily life with two teenage boys under some semblance of control. My days are a win if no is yelling at anyone else.

I am a geek. I’ve been a geek as long as I can remember. Anything that is electrical or mechanical has always appealed to me in a very visceral way. My wife has gotten used to it, though it occasionally embarrasses the children. I also have a strong interest in math which I enjoy reading about but have very little talent which I find frustrating since it would be great to really master applied mathematics. When the opportunity to take part in the Fab Academy came along, it was something that seemed made-to-measure for the sort of interests I have always had.