Last Updated 3-17-08.
I completed a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from Cornell University and a PhD in Urban Sociology from SUNY/Buffalo.
While preparing to lead an 8-week course on Postmodernism for retired professionals at a Senior Center in Ft. Collins, Colorado, in the Spring of 2001, I got to thinking about the polarization that has been increasing in legislative bodies and in church congregations over the past few decades.
As a research aeronautical engineer for 17 years, I gained experience simulating multidimensional dynamic systems. Then I worked on population projections and simulated traffic volumes for transportation planning purposes. I received a PhD in Sociology from SUNY/Buffalo, and, for several years, taught college courses in transportation planning there in the Civil Engineering Department. I taught urban sociology, community development, and sociological research methods for several years at what is now Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before leaving academia to work 15 years for local government planning departments in South Carolina.
After retiring, I volunteered with a social service agency (Weld Information and Referral Service) and with local economic development and church development organizations in Weld County, Colorado. These latter experiences made me sensitive to the variety of responses to polarization. Close interactions with ethnic and racial minorities before and after retirement helped me appreciate the mix of social, economic, and ideological forces acting upon citizens and to recognize the different ways people respond to the stresses of rapid social and cultural change.
The disaster of 9-11-01 motivated me to learn about Islam, to seek answers to the question, "Why Do They Hate US?" and to lead senior adult classes, in the Ft. Collins and Loveland, Colorado Senior Centers, based upon books Islam in America by Jane Smith, When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball, and many others. I have given talks to help Americans understand better the variety of approaches to Islam and to Christianity.
For several years I was involved in the Northern Colorado United Nations Association and the Loveland Peacemakers.
My most recent work has been writing a short E-book of Religion and Spirituality. It is accessible for free, by clicking on its title: RELATING TO THE DIVINE. I have gotten several very positive responses to this web posting.