I grew up in Akron, OH, which is in the Midwest NOT the North.. Knowing it is COLD in the outside world, I stayed in school as long as I could, bouncing from Georgia Tech to Pitt to Edinboro State to N. C. State.

From 1976-1982, I was an Instructor in the Department of Textile Materials & Management at N. C. State. From 1982-2002, I was a professor in the Department of Textiles & Apparel at Cornell University, where now I am Professor Emeritus. From 2001-2013, I was Professor and Head of the Department of Polymer and Fiber Engineering at Auburn University. I retired from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University in June 2018.

My major outside interest is the "Late Unpleasantness," especially the battles at Gettysburg and Sharpsburg/Antietam. I am a Brevet Major In the "Useless Mess" and a High Private in Co. E, 33rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry.