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| June 2009 |
I grew up in a suburb of Detroit. As a youngster I was interested in astronomy and astrophotography. At the age of 8, my parents presented me with a 3" Japanese refractor purchased from a local department store. I made my first foray into astrophotography that summer with a Lafayette Electronics camera adaptor (see below right) and a Brownie camera. With my first usable image (surprisingly it was in focus), I had convinced myself that I had photographed the rocket nozzle of an Atlas booster. I showed this prized image to everyone who would take time to look and listen. Later that week, my father broke the bad news to me that my photograph was not of a rocket nozzle, but that of a "bell-shaped" insulator from a telephone line.
As a young man I chose not to pursue a career in astronomy, but in factory management. I have earned an BS Degree in Chemistry from Oakland University in Rochester, MI, an MS Degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, and an MBA in Accounting, Finance, and Statistics from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. Currently, I am employed as Site Manager for a major corporation located in Frisco, TX. With my broad background in a variety of industries, I consider myself to be a business generalist with a strong background in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma.
After a long absence from astronomy, I became intrigued with advances in CCD astro imaging. In 2001 I began to acquire my current imaging platform of an AP 155 EDFS, Paramount ME, and SBIG ST10 XME. This equipment makes photography much easier than my first attempts four decades earlier.
